As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the daily lives of people worldwide, most of the sports calendar had been cancelled, with one notable exception – the upcoming 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, set to be held in Tokyo.
That changed on Tuesday, 24 March 2020, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in a joint statement with the Tokyo 2020 organising committee that the 2020 Olympic Games are officially postponed to 2021. The news came one day after veteran IOC member Dick Pound said that the Games will be postponed.
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“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound told USA TODAY’s Christine Brennan. “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”
According to the IOC statement released Tuesday, the IOC and the Olympic organising committee decided that hosting the Games in July would pose too much of a health risk in light of the present circumstances. They decided to postpone the Games to a currently undecided date that is no later than Summer 2021. The Games will remain in Tokyo.
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Additionally, the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials will be postponed as well. Trials were scheduled for 19 to 28 June in Eugene, Oregon.
In a letter to the Olympic athletes released on Sunday, IOC president Thomas Bach wrote, “Cancellation of the Olympic Games would destroy the Olympic dream of 11,000 athletes from all 206 National Olympic Committees, from the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, most likely for the Paralympic athletes, and for all the people who are supporting you as coaches, doctors, officials, training partner, friends and family. Cancellation would not solve any problem and would help nobody.”
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Article Credit:
Original Author: Hailey Middlebrook of Runner’s World
Article Syndicated from Runner’s World.
