IOC Putting Athletes At Risk By Not Postponing 2020 Olympics

The entire sporting world has come to a standstill due to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Most of the biggest sporting leagues in the world including the NBA, NFL, IPL and Premier League have either cancelled or postponed their seasons indefinitely. This decision was taken in order to protect both players and fans.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is one of the few sporting organizations that has remained firm on its decision to proceed with the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The Olympics is scheduled to take place from 24 July to 09 August and the IOC believes that things should be under control before then.

The Olympics takes place once in every four years as the best athletes from around the world train exceptionally hard to represent their country and see if they can win Olympic Gold.

The Olympics brings in massive financial revenue for the host city as well as the IOC and in some ways it understandable why the IOC is reluctant to make the decision to postpone the 2020 Olympics.

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When you put the financial aspect of the tournament aside, it becomes very logical for one to postpone the Olympics as Kaori Yamaguchi rightfully pointed out. Yamaguchi is a former judo competitor who is a member of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC). She told the media that the IOC is not looking at the best interests of the athletes and are putting them at risk because they have to continue to train despite the circumstances with the Olympics just four months away.

IOC Must Make Decision To Postpone Olympics

Yamaguchi said it is important for the IOC to quickly make a decision and postpone the Olympics, so all athletes can follow self distancing and not put themselves at risk during a time like this. Yamaguchi also stated that she was going to speak out at the JOC meeting on March 27 and push for the IOC to be postponed.

The IOC confirmed earlier this week that there would be no change in the dates as there was a contingency plan in place. However, no information was shared explaining what the contingency plan entailed.

The COVID-19 virus which has so far infected more than 190,000 people across the world has also infected vice president of the JOC Kozo Tashima. If the JOC does vote in favour of a rescheduling, the IOC will have to make a decision in the next week or two!