Tokyo Olympics will be cancelled if it cannot be held in the summer of 2021, says president of committee
The next Olympics will be cancelled rather than rescheduled again if the coronavirus crisis persists into the summer of 2021.
Due to be held this summer, COVID-19 has postponed the Games for the first time in its history, with chiefs moving it back a year.
The 2020 Olympics has been rescheduled for next year but there are even doubts the event will happen then
But a growing number of experts are predicting that it will be impossible to stage the Olympics without a vaccine and it remains uncertain when countries around the world will ease restrictions on social distancing.
And Yoshiro Mori, a former prime minister of Japan and president of the Tokyo Olympic committee, said the event will be scrapped altogether if it cannot be held next summer, telling Nikkan Sport newspaper: “In that case, it’s cancelled.”
The decision to postpone the greatest show on Earth was taken on March 24, something that was welcomed by a number of athletes.
A cancellation, which hasn’t happened since the Second World War, would effectively end the Olympic careers of some British stars, including four-times gold medallist Mo Farah, 37.
But Mori is hopeful that a cancellation won’t happen.
Mori (right) believes the Olympics will happen in 2021 but admits they’ll be scrapped if COVID-19 is still an issue
He added: “We have delayed the Olympics until next summer, by which time we will have won the battle.
“The [rescheduled 2020] Olympics would be much more precious than any past Games if we can press on after winning this battle. We have to believe this, otherwise our hard work and efforts will not be rewarded.”
However, Japan’s most senior doctor, Yoshitake Yokokura, who is the president of the Japan Medical Association, is less optimistic.
He told journalists: “It would be difficult to hold the Olympics unless effective vaccines are developed.”
Meanwhile, another expert suggested the Olympics may have to take place behind closed doors.
Martin Lipton ‘wouldn’t be shocked’ if Premier League is called off
Kentaro Iwata, a professor of infectious disease at Kobe University said: “I am very pessimistic about holding the Games next summer.
“Unless you hold the Games in a totally different structure such as [with] no audience or a very limited participation.”
It’s understood Japan has 14,000 coronavirus cases and about 400 deaths. It seems unlikely the disease will be defeated internationally by next summer even if it’s brought under control.
The Olympics would bring in athletes and fans from all over the world, creating conditions for potential of a new wave of infection.
A vaccine would take at least a year to develop and would take longer to manufacture and distribute it globally.
However, it would also lead to questions about how distribution of the vaccine would be prioritised, and whether athletes would receive it before medical workers or vulnerable people.
A £400,000 fund bankrolled by Prince Albert of Monaco’s International Athletics Foundation and World Athletics has been set up to help struggling athletes. The idea came from Hicham El Guerrouj, the double Olympic champion and 1,500m world record holder.
Give COVID-19 the red card
The quicker we work together to stop coronavirus spreading, the sooner we can get back into the pubs, the gyms and stadiums and arenas to see live sport again…
STAY AT HOME. Only leave for the following purposes:
- to shop for basic essentials – only when you really need to
- to do one form of exercise a day – such as a run, walk or cycle, alone or with other people you live with
- for any medical need – for example, to visit a pharmacy or deliver essential supplies to a vulnerable person
- to travel to and from work – but only where this is absolutely necessary
For more info and tips, visit the NHS website.
The government has also issued further detail on what we can do during lockdown.
Everyone should do what they can to stop coronavirus spreading.
No comments:
Post a Comment