The International Olympic Committee on Sunday said that postponing the 2020 Olympics is one its options as the world grapples with the cor...
The International Olympic Committee on Sunday said that postponing the 2020 Olympics is one its options as the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. However, they insisted that cancellation of the Tokyo Games was was not on the cards.
The IOC has faced strong pressure to push back this summer’s Tokyo Olympics, scheduled from July 24 to August 9, from sporting federations and athletes worried about the health risk as the COVID-19 global death tally rose past the 13,000 mark.
On Sunday, IOC President Thomas Bach, a former Olympic fencing gold medallist, told athletes a decision on the Games would be made “within the next four weeks”.
Here is the full text of his letter to the athletes.
Dear Fellow Athletes,
In this unprecedented crisis we are all united.
Like you, we are very much concerned about what the COVID-19 pandemic is doing to people’s lives. Human lives take precedence over everything, including the staging of the Games. The IOC wants to be part of the solution. Therefore we have made it our leading principle to safeguard the health of everyone involved, and to contribute to containing the virus. I would like to assure you that we will adhere to this in all our decisions concerning the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
The road to Tokyo is very different for each...
