Coronavirus: senior IOC official says Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be postponed

Senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official Dick Pound said on Monday that a postponement of this year’s Tokyo Olympics was now inevitable as the world reels from the coronavirus pandemic.

The IOC said on Sunday that 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 said. “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.”

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.

Canada, Australia pull out of Olympics as coronavirus crisis deepens

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 number of Olympic committees and sports federations have already indicated unwillingness to participate in Tokyo if the games are held in July as planned.

On Sunday, the Canadian Olympic Committee became the first national organisation to say it would not participate if the Games took place in July.

In the United States, both the governing bodies of track and field and swimming have called for the Games to be postponed.