Dick Pound, a former Canadian Olympic swimmer and a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1978, told The Associated Press that the 2020 Olympics are more likely to be canceled than postponed (or moved) in the case the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak does not get under control.
Pound said that there is likely a two- or three-month window to make a decision, which means the IOC could have until May to take action.
“In and around that time, I’d say folks are going to have to ask: ‘Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?’” Pound told the AP.
“A lot of things have to start happening [as the Games get closer]. You’ve got to start ramping up your security, your food, the Olympic Village, the hotels. The media folks will be in there building their studios.”
Because of the necessary prep for the event, he’d expect a full cancellation, Pound said; he also noted that it would be hard for media worldwide to cover the event if it got pushed back to the fall. Pound added that it’s unlikely individual sports could move to new locations around the world, or that Japan could handle a one-year delay with the tens of billions of dollars it has already put into organizing.
“You just don’t postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics. There’s so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons, and competitive seasons, and television seasons. You can’t just say, `We’ll do it in October.’”
Pound cautioned athletes to proceed as planned, and not worry about competing in a dangerous situation.
“As far as we all know, you’re going to be in Tokyo,” Pound said. “All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual. So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation.”
There have been approximately 80,149 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, resulting in 2,699 deaths. Tuesday morning, the CDC warned that a spread to the United States could cause “significant disruption.”
“It’s not so much of a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters. “We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad.”
It’s a big old beat up – only 3.4% of people that have caught it, have died
Is that all??? 🙄
I think the possibility is real, can you imagine everyone marching into the stadium with masks on lol
Would there be a possibility of just postponing the Olympics for a year? This gives every one 12-months to adjust to the change in dates etc. Hopefully it doesn’t come to this but this might be better than just outright cancelling the Olympics.
As the article said, the cost and logistics needed to postpone a year is something the host may not be able to take on.
I think we should listen to whatever Dick Pound has to say
If the games are cancelled-don’t they move them to a city that is ready to host the Olympics? E.g: Sydney, London etc.
Most cities that have hosted the Olympics in the past have repurposed venues and housing sites since the games ended. So while there may be a pool there, the rest of the logistics (other sport venues, municipal infrastructure, tourist infrastructure) would have to be ramped up in a very short period of time. And, as recent news reports have indicated, the curious has begun spreading beyond the main centers in Asia; just because a locale is safe or not today doesn’t mean it will be tomorrow!
Economically speaking they should just move the Olympics to Los Angele when they held the 84 Olympics it was the cheapest yet most profitable in modern history.. now host cities have a budget between 20 and 50 billion dollars whereas the 84 Olympic swimming cost 500 million
lol
You could still have the Olympic trials on Omaha. And if it gets cancelled maybe keep the Omaha pool longer and host a super world championship meet!
Even better… Invite the Olympic teams of every country in the world for a short course yards meet. We’re finally gonna see Peaty race yards.
I suppose it would have to be organised by FINA since, according to the “Trident of Traitors” (1487), FINA will not acknowledge the results or records of any meet not approved by FINA at least 6 months in advance.
https://swimswam.com/fina-relaxes-rules-wont-ban-athletes-for-competing-in-non-fina-meets/
This is my biggest fear as a viewer. I already requested a few days off this summer strictly to be available to watch Tokyo 2020 swimming.
Yes, my whole year is planned around sitting on the couch for 2 weeks in July/August!
Said by every age-group coach in history