The United States Olympic Committee formally asked its organizing partner to “postpone” the holding of the Tokyo 2020 Games, scheduled for July and August, due to the expansion of the coronavirus outbreak, which has already killed more than 14 thousand people worldwide.
"We regret that there is no measure that can resolve all the concerns we face," expressed the American Committee (Team USA), through a statement, which also remarked that, after the outbreak of the pandemic, There are "huge disruptions to the training environment, anti-doping controls, and the qualification process cannot be satisfactorily passed."
“To this end, it is more than clear that the path to postponement (of the Olympic Games) is the most appropriate. We encourage the IOC to take all necessary measures to ensure that the Games take place in safe and fair conditions for all competitors. ", reads the text.
The IOC issued a statement last Sunday stating that "within four weeks" approximately will define whether or not to postpone the holding of the Tokyo Games, originally scheduled between July 24 and August 9.
Made up of around 600 athletes, the North American Olympic team loomed ready to participate in the Olympic event in the Japanese capital, with a delegation whose number would be similar to that exhibited four years ago in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
However, Tokyo had insisted that the Olympic Games be "carried forward", the veteran IOC member, Dick Pound told USA Today newspaper that "the decision to postpone the event has already been made", although the parameters regarding when they will take place “have not yet been determined”.
The Chief of the Olympic Games. from Japan, Yoshiro Mori, gave the first official sign that the appointment "could not be disputed" on the scheduled date, anticipating the press that "I am not foolish enough to insist that the Olympics take place as originally planned."
The expansion of the pandemic, defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), of the coronavirus, carries a higher sum of more than 14 thousand people died worldwide, having infected more than 334 thousand individuals.
Finding a new date for the Games dispute will become a challenge for Japanthat already invested around 12 billion dollars for the appointment.
The Euro Cup was already postponed, for the same reason, until 2021, while the following year it will host the Winter Olympics in Beijing and the FIFA Soccer World Cup in Qatar.
With information from Télam.