Coronavirus: Postpone the Olympics now

Sport lovers everywhere are scratching their heads at what is going on with the Olympics.
By Angus Robertson
Published 24th Mar 2020, 06:00 BST
A police officer wearing a face maskwalks past the Olympic countdown clock in Tokyo (Picture: Behrouz MehriI/AFP)A police officer wearing a face maskwalks past the Olympic countdown clock in Tokyo (Picture: Behrouz MehriI/AFP)
A police officer wearing a face maskwalks past the Olympic countdown clock in Tokyo (Picture: Behrouz MehriI/AFP)

When pretty much every elite sporting competition and discipline is joining in the coronavirus lockdown, only the International Olympic Committee is holding out for the possibility for the Tokyo Games to go ahead in July.

Of course, a postponement will be a huge blow for the Japanese organisers and all of the athletes who have been working so hard towards the competition, but the world has changed in the last few weeks.

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The IOC has bought itself four weeks to make a decision, but in the interim people are making their own call. Canada has announced that it will not attend the Olympics or Paralympics in Tokyo in July and others will follow.

Athletic associations in the UK, USA and national Olympic governing bodies in a number of countries have called for a postponement, as has the president of World Athletics, Lord Sebastian Coe. A decision or cancellation will come as a blow to many Scottish athletes, their families and other fans who intended to travel to Japan for the Olympics – but safety must come first.

There is not a snowball’s chance in hell that the Olympics and Paralympics will go ahead in Tokyo in July. The sooner that is confirmed, the better for all concerned.

Related topics:CanadaUSAJapan

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