The threat to the Tokyo Olympics is becoming clearer. Scheduled from July 24 to August 9, the competition could be postponed due to the epidemic of coronavirus which strikes the planet. On March 3, Thomas Bach, the President of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) was nevertheless confident about the holding of the Olympic Games in five months.
“A task force ( Editor's note: comprising the IOC, the Organizing Committee for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the city of Tokyo, the Japanese government and the World Health Organization ) has been in place since mid-February and according to its We remain very confident in the success of the Games, said Thomas Bach. I would like to encourage all athletes to continue their preparation, with great confidence. "
A week later, the tone changed. This Tuesday, in fact, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the Japanese Haruyuki Takahashi, one of the 25 members of the organizing committee of the Olympic Games, confided that a postponement of the tests had been discussed during the recent discussions being given that an outright cancellation or a closed session would have far-reaching financial consequences.
“I don't think the Olympics can be canceled. If necessary, we would rather consider a postponement, said Haruyuki Takahashi. The IOC would face too many problems if canceled. In particular with regard to the American rights of TV retransmission. According to the Japanese, the postponement would be one to two years.
