The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are the latest major sporting event to be impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, as the Games will not be held in July as originally scheduled, according to Dick Pound.
Veteran International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound told USA Today’s Christine Brennan on Monday that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are going to be postponed. While an exact date has not been set, it will likely be some time in 2021.
“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound said. “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know. It will come in stages. We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense.”
In a letter released on Sunday, the IOC acknowledged that it has been preparing for the potential postponement of the Tokyo Games. The committee said a decision would be reached over the next month, but countries have already said they will not send their athletes to Tokyo in time for the originally scheduled July start.
Previous Olympic Games have been canceled during times of war, but the Olympics have never been postponed.
Japan’s number of coronavirus cases is lower than numerous other countries, but people traveling in from all around the world and living in close quarters is a very bad way to contain the spread of a virus. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding sports with the coronavirus outbreak, and it doesn’t sound like we are going to see any of them resume in the immediate future.
