Sadly, the 2020 Summer Olympics had to surrender to the COVID-19. (Image via CNN International)

Official, Japan Summer Olympics postponed due to COVID-19

Alfonsus Adi Putra
Sports & Culture
More Sports
Mar 25, 2020
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On Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the first-of-its-kind postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan. The committee had to admit the lethality of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that caused the nations of the world to hide.

While other Olympics were canceled due to wars, the 2020 Summer Olympics was the first one to be canceled due to a pandemic.

Still aiming for the 2020 Summer Olympics, costing at least US$28 billion to stage, and safeguarding the international athletes, the IOC stated that the reschedule will be moved to a date beyond 2020 but not later than Summer 2021.

The postponement came after the President of the IOC, Thomas Bach, held a teleconference with the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe on Tuesday night. Turned out, the Japanese PM himself asked for the postponement to hold a conducive environment where the athletes could perform at their best competitive levels and the safety of all parties is secured.

IOC referred to the 2020 Olympics in Japan as a “beacon of hope” for the world and every nation. Abe saw the reschedule as a winning solution to prove that mankind reigns over pandemic.

While the IOC and Japan said that the postponement came under their considerations, it was all thanks to the pressure from the disagreeing athletes, sports organizations, and national Olympic committees. The disagreement came as a result of the training and qualifying schedules ruptured beyond repair due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The four-time Olympian and Canadian women’s hockey champion, Hayley Wickenheiser, was relieved to hear the postponement, referring to it as a “message athletes deserved to hear”.

Source: https://bit.ly/2QLeKE9

Sports , Events , 2020 , Summer-Olympics , Asia , Japan , Postponement , Cancelation , COVID-19