Tokyo Olympics Might Be Cancelled Than Moved, Says Official
TOKYO OLYMPICS – Tokyo Olympics is less likely to be moved and more likely to be cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
According to Inquirer, this statement was from a senior member of the International Olympic Committee.
Former Canadian swimming champion Richard William Duncan Pound who has been in the IOC in 1978 said that there is a three-month window, or even a two-month window, to determine what will happen in the Olympics which will be held in Tokyo.
This could mean that a decision could be undisclosed until late May.
“In and around that time, I’d say folks are going to have to ask: ‘Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?’”
“a lot of things have to start happening. You’ve got to start ramping up your security, your food, the Olympic Village, the hotels. The media folks will be in there building their studios.”
Pound said that if the IOC sees that the games cannot go further as scheduled in Japan’s capital city, cancellation is possible.
The COVID-19 outbreak, which began in China two months ago has infected more than 80K people worldwide and slain more than 2.7K, which most of them came from China.
COVID-19, however, gained ground in South Korea, the Middle East and Europe, which raised fears of a possible global pandemic. Japan, in this case, has four deaths.
As per the report, Pound urged athletes to keep training. Around 11K participants are expected for the event, which starts at July 24. Furthermore, around 4,400 are expected for the Paralympics, which opens at August 25.
“As far as we all know, you’re going to be in Tokyo,” Pound said. “All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual. So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation.”
The modern Olympics in 1896 was cancelled due to wartime. The 1940 Olympics was supposed to be held in Tokyo but was cancelled due to Japan’s war with China and WWII. The Rio Games in 2016 continued amid the Zika virus outbreak.
Pound echoed IOC’s stance that says it relies on consultations with the World Health Organization (WHO) to make any action.
“You just don’t postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics. There’s so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons, and competitive seasons, and television seasons. You can’t just say, `We’ll do it in October.’”
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