The IOC said on Sunday the body would wait four more weeks before
announcing its decision on the fate of the July 24-August 9 Games, amid
mounting calls for them to be rescheduled.
Senior International
Olympic Committee (IOC) official Dick Pound said Monday a postponement of
this year's Tokyo Olympics is now inevitable as the world reels from the
coronavirus pandemic.
The IOC said on
Sunday the body would wait four more weeks before announcing its decision on
the fate of the July 24-August 9 Games, amid mounting calls for them to be
rescheduled.
Pound however
believes the IOC -- which ruled out a cancellation of the Games -- is now
laying the groundwork for a postponement.
"My
interpretation of the IOC's communications is they don't want to cancel, and
they don't think they can continue with the July 24 date," Pound told AFP.
"So you're looking at the 'P' word - postponement.
"They're
going to explore options with the Japanese of course, and then there all kinds
of stakeholders -- international federations, NOCs, athletes.
"And then in
four weeks they're going to try and come out with a plan B and make it as
specific as they can make it in that time period." Pound, who is Canadian,
said the "astonishing" spread of COVID-19
across the globe left the IOC with no other choice.
"This is not
something that's going to clear up by July 24," Pound said.
"And this
thing isn't going to go away by September or October. A lot of the biggest
countries in the world are just about overwhelmed, and it's just starting to
take root in Africa. It's a no-go in my view." A one-year postponement to
2021 remained the most likely option, Pound added.
"I think the
one-year postponement is the most feasible because it gives you the most time
to organise," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment