Dissent grows over Tokyo Games
Print Edition
The International Olympic Committee is facing its strongest headwinds in decades as it briefed national committees yesterday on the state of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics amid the coronavirus pandemic, with voices of dissent growing louder.
The IOC has remained committed to staging the Tokyo Games as planned from July 24 to August 9, saying on Tuesday after a meeting with international sports federations that measures against the virus were delivering results.
The coronavirus has so far killed more than 7,500 people and infected about 200,000.
The Olympic body has refused to publicly consider cancellation or postponement as possible options, even as other major events, including soccer’s Euro 2020 and the French Open grand slam, announced postponements on Tuesday.
The virus has also wreaked havoc with Olympic qualification tournaments with athletes struggling to train, travel or compete.
Tokyo will host some 11,000 athletes and 53 percent have already earned their spot at the Games. The remaining 47 percent will clinch their place through modified qualifiers, or previous performances.
Under the current exceptional circumstances, the IOC said, solutions needed to be found that were appropriate, though they might not be ideal for all athletes. “This is an exceptional situation which requires exceptional solutions,” the IOC said in a statement yesterday.
“The IOC is committed to finding a solution with the least negative impact for the athletes, while protecting the integrity of the competition and the athletes’ health. No solution will be ideal in this situation, and this is why we are counting on the responsibility and solidarity of the athletes,” it added.
IOC member Hayley Wickenheiser called the decision to proceed with the Games “insensitive and irresponsible” in the most vocal attack on the IOC since President Thomas Bach took over in 2013.
Wickenheiser, who competed in five Winter Games in ice hockey and at the 2000 Summer Olympics in softball, said continuing with the Games as planned ignored the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Several athletes, including reigning Olympic pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi, said the IOC decision was putting athletes’ health at risk.
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