Canada pulls out of 2020 Games as Japan, IOC consider postponement

23 March 2020 - 06:56 By Reuters
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Canada’s Olympic Committee applauded the IOC for recognising the need to consider alternate scenarios for hosting the Games.
Canada’s Olympic Committee applauded the IOC for recognising the need to consider alternate scenarios for hosting the Games.
Image: Brian Bahr

Canada became the first country to boycott the Tokyo Games due to the coronavirus pandemic and Australia told its athletes to prepare for an Olympics next year, as Japan and the IOC flagged the prospect of a postponement for the first time.

Opposition to holding the Games in July has risen sharply in the past 48 hours, with several major stakeholders, such as US Track and Field and UK Athletics, with some national Olympic committees, calling for a delay because of the pandemic.

More than 14,500 people have died since the outbreak began.

On Sunday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it would hold discussions that would include an option of putting back the July 24 start date or moving the Games by a year or more.

“If that becomes difficult, we may have no option but to consider postponing the Games, given the Olympic principle of putting the health of athletes first,” Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe told parliament. He also said calling off the Games entirely was not an option, echoing the IOC position in its statement that cancellation “was not on the agenda”.

The organising committee for the Olympics and Paralympics will be holding a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.

Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic committees called on organisers and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to postpone the Games for one year.

“We offer them our full support in helping navigate all the complexities that rescheduling the Games will bring,” the committees said in a statement.

“While we recognise the inherent complexities around a postponement, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our athletes and the world community.”

While Canada is the first country to say it will not send a delegation to compete in the summer of 2020, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said on Monday its athletes should prepare for a Tokyo Games taking place in 2021.

“The AOC believes our athletes now need to prioritise their own health and of those around them, and to be able to return to the families, in discussion with their National Federations,” the AOC said in a statement.

ALTERNATE SCENARIOS

Canada’s Olympic Committee said it reviewed the IOC’s assessment of the situation and applauded it for recognising the need to consider alternate scenarios for hosting the Games.

On Friday, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said it was up to Canadian athletes to decide on going to Tokyo even if the Games went ahead.

Canada’s boycott will add to growing pressure on the IOC to alter the schedule after criticism from a slew of current and former athletes with health concerns.

“YESSSSSS CANADA!!!!!!! pulls out of OLYMPICS UNLESS IOC POSTPONE!!!,” tweeted US hurdler Lolo Jones.

“OUR HEALTH IS MORE important than sport. Hopefully the UNITED STATES is next.” The US Olympic Committee said it would not comment on Canada’s decision.

Earlier, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) welcomed the IOC’s statement, but said more clarity was needed.

“The progress reflected in today’s IOC update to the global athlete community is an important step in providing clarity, but our athlete community continues to face enormous ambiguity surrounding the 2020 Games in Tokyo,” said USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland and USOPC athletes advisory council chair Han Xiao in a joint statement.

The Olympics have never been postponed or cancelled during peacetime, but the IOC’s decision to consider a postponement was met with relief from several major stakeholders, including World Athletics, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and major national Olympic committees.

The last major boycott of the Olympics was when the Soviet bloc stayed away from the 1984 Los Angeles Games, though North Korea and Cuba skipped the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

“As an Olympian, feeling for Team Canada athletes and coaches who have worked so hard ... I know these decisions will impact many beyond sport,” tweeted Charmaine Crooks, a five-time Canadian Olympic sprinter and former IOC member. 


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now