Japan awoke on Wednesday to the deflating reality that the Olympics they had hop...
TOKYO - Japan awoke on Wednesday to the deflating reality that the Olympics they had hoped to host in Tokyo this summer were now probably 16 months away after the coronavirus crisis forced organizers into an unprecedented postponement.
People wearing protective face masks due to the outbreak of coronavirus disease walk in front of the Giant Olympic rings at the waterfront area at Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo, Japan, March 25, 2020, after the announcement of the Games postponement to 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato The International Olympic Committee and Japanese government finally succumbed to intense pressure from athletes and sporting bodies around the world on Tuesday when they agreed to put back the Games until 2021. It was a huge blow to Japan, which has invested $12 billion in preparations, but also for the prestige of the Olympic movement and its leader Thomas Bach, who had come under fire for not reacting sooner in the face of the global health crisis. Japan Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita said the decision had come earlier than he thought it would, but he was determined the host nation’s athletes would be ready to compete in 2021. “Now that the decisions have been made, let’s take this positively, reset our mindset,” he told a news conference.Japanese government officials said Prime Minster Shinzo Abe had phoned U.S. President Donald Trump to explain the postponement as they sought to further cushion the economy from the twin blows of the coronavirus and the delayed Games. Tuesday’s decision came 122 days before the planned opening ceremony at Japan’s newly built National Stadium, which was tousher in the 16-day event featuring 11,000 athletes from 206nations and territories. The countdown clock in front of Tokyo Station which had been displaying the number of days until the Games halted and reverted to Wednesday’s date and time.Athletes around the world, many struggling to train because of restrictions put in place to contain a virus which has killed more than 17,200 people, expressed disappointment but largely welcomed the decision. The rapidity of the move from the position that the Games would go ahead as planned to postponement meant it came out of the blue for some, however. “When I learned the Olympics were being postponed, I was honestly surprised,” Japanese sport climber Tomoa Narasaki said in an Instagram post.Many other questions remain about the re-arranged Games, not least when they will happen after the IOC announcement stated only that they would take place “not before the end of summer 2021”. Somewhere around the original 2020 dates of July 24-Aug. 9 looks most likely, especially after organizers confirmed the marathon and race-walks would remain in Hokkaido where they were moved because of the sweltering Tokyo summer heat. Those dates would require the shifting of other major events scheduled next year, in particular the athletics world championships in the United States and the swimming equivalent in the Japanese city of Fukuoka. World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe has suggested its championships in Eugene, Oregon could be moved to 2022, while swimming’s FINA said they would discuss a rescheduling of their event with Tokyo organizers and the IOC. The Olympic flame, already lit at Olympia in Greece and taken to Japan for a now-canceled torch relay, will stay in the host nation as a symbol of hope and the Games will retain the title Tokyo 2020.For some athletes, an extra 12 months might be too long a wait and 38-year-old Swiss Nicola Spirig, who won triathlon gold at the 2012 London Olympics, said she would be considering her options. “For the past months, I have been working daily toward my goal of competing at my fifth Olympic Summer Games,” she posted on Instagram. “I am ... glad to have clarity now and fully support the IOC’s decision as far as my sporting future is concerned, the decision obviously has an impact.” The 57 percent of athletes who had already booked spots in Tokyo face a wait to discover whether they will have to qualify again, although Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll said they would not.U.S. athletes in the major Olympic sports of athletics, swimming and gymnastics had more clarity with their national federations announcing Olympic trials would now be held in 2021. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart warned the postponement could open the door for convicted drugcheats to compete for medals, and the issue would need to be tackled. Most athletes, though, appeared to be prepared to follow Yamashita’s advice to Japan by resetting and going again next year. “Tokyo 2020’s becoming Tokyo 2021?” Japanese judoka Naohisa Takato, a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, tweeted.Reporting by Jack Tarrant, Ju-min Park, Chris Gallagher and Daniel Leussink in Tokyo, Ian Ransom in Melbourne, Steve Keating in Toronto, Gene Cherry in North Carolina. Writing by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Lincoln Feast
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Canada withdraws from 2020 Games as Japan, IOC consider postponementCanada pulls out of Tokyo2020 Olympics amid mounting pressure on host country Japan and the International Olympic Committee to postpone the Games due to the coronavirus outbreak
Read more »
Japan, Resigned to Olympics Delay, Hopes It Will Be BriefNow that the door is open to a probable delay in the Summer Olympics because of the coronavirus pandemic, Japan is hoping to keep it short.
Read more »
Japan Olympics minister says no Games until pandemic under controlJapan's Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto says an end to coronavirus infections worldwide would be necessary before Tokyo can proceed with hosting the games
Read more »
Olympics to Be Postponed Due to Coronavirus Outbreak, Japan PM SaysJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he expects the pandemic to be over by next year and the Olympics2020 to be held by the summer of 2021 at the latest
Read more »
In Japan, hotels lose out on Olympic bet as coronavirus spreadsThe Osaka Corona Hotel in western Japan has been eerily quiet and empty the past...
Read more »