Will The Tokyo 2020 Olympics Game Still Hold: Coronavirus Pandemic
September 7, 2013, the International Olympic Committee awarded the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in 2020 to Tokyo. During the 125th IOC session in Buenos Aires, Tokyo was chosen over Istanbul and Madrid who were her fellow candidates for the elections.
Fortunately, while this decision was being made no one foresaw the Convid-19 pandemic closing on the world. Sports fans are concerned about the situation of the 2020 Olympics games due to the current global pandemic.
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Like every other sphere and sector of life, the Convid-19 pandemic has been able to crawl into the sports world. Not only does it affect the Olympics games but also other sports such as football, boxing, etc. even the Premier leagues were put on hold. What then lies the fate of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics games?
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The Global Athlete Group Calls For Tokyo 2020 Postponement
The world athletics president Lord Coe has called for the Tokyo 2020 summer games to be postponed. In his letter to IOC president Thomas Bach, he claims that the possibility of the Olympics games to still hold in July 2020 is “neither feasible or desirable” due to the issue of the coronavirus.
Bach’s letter listed three main reasons for delaying the 2020 Games. The reasons include: competition fairness, risk of injury and emotional wellbeing of athletes. He stated that everyone including the area presidents believe that a fair and level playing field in the competitions cannot be expected as athletes are struggling to train due to the different measures carried out in their respective countries to control the spread of the coronavirus. He also claims that due to the first reason, athletes are prone to a high risk of injuries. Also he stated that the desire to have the games held in July is one that does not go well with the emotional wellbeing of the athletes and this is something they can collectively put an end to.
His letter to Bach was followed by a conference call he had with the area presidents of the Olympic federations. Coe said: “No one wants to see the Olympic Games postponed, but as I have said publicly, we cannot hold the event at all costs, certainly not at the cost of the athletes’ safety”. “A decision on the Olympic Games must become very obvious very quickly. I believe that time has come and we owe it to our athletes to give them respect where we can.
Yasuhiro Yamashita, the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee reiterated the subject of the welfare of the athletes. He told reporters that the delay in Tokyo 2020 would be a burden to athletes preparing for the games.
Bach wrote a letter to address the athletes and he pointed out that the IOC was in a dilemma and that a final decision about the date of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 would be premature. He claimed that a postponement of the games was an extremely complex challenge and that a cancellation would destroy the Olympic dreams of 11,000 athletes. In regards to an eventual postponement, he warned that some problems would occur. Such that a number of critical venues needed for the games could potentially be unavailable. Also, the situations with millions of nights already booked in hotels is extremely difficult to handle, the international sports calendar for at least 33 Olympic sports would have to be adapted, amongst other challenges the body has to face.
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Australia Joins Canada in Withdrawal From the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games: Britain is to Follow Shortly
Canada and Australia recently announced their withdrawal from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games. The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committee said it had taken a difficult decision to pull out of the games. This decision was carried out after consulting the athletes, sports groups, and the government. It then called on the IOC and the WHO to postpone the games for a year.
On Monday 23rd March, the Australia chef de mission, Ian Chesterman said that “it is clear the games can’t be held in July”. This was followed by the information that Australia would also be withdrawing from the games. British Olympic association’s chairman, Hugh Robertson says, he expects Britain to join shortly. “we can’t see any way that this can go ahead as things are consulted”, I expect we will be joining Canada and Australia shortly”.
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The Tokyo 2020 0lympic Games are Due to Take Place From 24 July to 9 August: IOC Member Dick Pound Says the 2020 Olympic Games Will Be Postponed by a Year Because of Convid-19
After the chairman of the British Olympic Association said that Great Britain would be unlikely to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, the IOC has made a decision on the postponement of the games.
Dick Pound told USA today, that it was based on the above information that the IOC made its decision. “the parameters going forward have not been determined, but the games are not going to start on 24 July, that much I know”.
The IOC gave itself four weeks to decide on the future of this year’s Olympic Games, but Pound said it would be announced soon. “it would come in stages”, “we will begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense”, he said.
Although we would love to watch the Olympic games, we much rather prefer the safety of our athletes.
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