Tokyo 2020: US athletics team cancels Olympics training in Japan over virus
- The US team notified authorities in Chiba prefecture of its decision last month, saying the pandemic put athletes’ safety at risk
The US team notified authorities in Chiba prefecture, located next to Tokyo, of its decision last month, saying the pandemic would put athletes’ safety at risk, according to Takuya Iida, an official in charge of the training camps in the prefecture. The team had planned to train in July and August. Some other national teams have also cancelled training camps for similar reasons, he said.
Despite the infections, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the Tokyo organisers as well as the IOC have repeatedly said the games will proceed from July 23 as planned in a safe environment. At a press conference on Wednesday, Mark Adams, an IOC spokesman, reiterated that the committee is focused on delivering the games.
However, calls from the Japanese public to cancel the event have been increasing, with nearly 60 per cent of those surveyed voicing opposition in holding the event this summer, according to a Yomiuri poll published on Monday. As of Wednesday, more than 330,000 people signed an online petition calling for the games to be called off.