IOC’s VP Denies Tokyo Olympics Postponement Rumors

After having a news rumor of Tokyo Olympics will be delayed until 2021 amid the coronavirus outbreak as from an interview of  the Veteran International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound with USA TODAY Sports on Monday, however, the International Olympic Committee vice president Anita DeFrantz says she has not heard anything about the games being postponed.

Pound told USA TODAY Sports, “On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know… We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense.”

Later the IOC vice president has responded to Pound’s statement that “If that is the case, then you know more than a vice-president of the International Olympic Committee,”

Following the comments from Pound and DeFrantz, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as well released an official statement on Monday requesting 2020 Summer Olympics to be postponed after the committee surveyed its 1,780 athletes.

“We are thankful to the 1,780 Team USA athletes for sharing their voice and honest input with us as we address the issues related to COVID-19 and the Tokyo Games, and make good on our promise to put athletes first. We are now confident that we have heard a wide range of viewpoints and understand the diversity of challenges our athletes face. We regret that there is no outcome that can solve all the concerns we face. Our most important conclusion from this broad athlete response is that even if the current significant health concerns could be alleviated by late summer, the enormous disruptions to the training environment, doping controls and qualification process can’t be overcome in a satisfactory manner. To that end, it’s more clear than ever that the path toward postponement is the most promising, and we encourage the IOC to take all needed steps to ensure the Games can be conducted under safe and fair conditions for all competitors. We look forward to their feedback and direction, and stand ready to work in support of Team USA and in full cooperation with the global community.”

Australia and Canada have already said not to attend to sport events if IOC insists to continue its competition as planned. 

The IOC issued earlier that a final decision on postponement would be made within the next four weeks.