IOC under pressure over pressing on with Tokyo 2020 preparations
Olympic champions Hayley Wickenheiser and Max Hoff are among those critical of the International Olympic Committee’s plan to stage the Tokyo Games in summer despite big uncertainties amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The IOC said Tuesday that it was “fully committed” to holding the Olympics between July 24 and August 9 and that there was no need for “drastic decisions” now as a result of the health crisis which has wiped out a large number of sports events around the world.
It also said It “encourages all athletes to continue to prepare for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 as best they can.”
However, as it was to continue briefing its stakeholders on Wednesday about its measures the IOC was also confronted with growing dissent from athletes.
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IOC member Wickenheiser, a four-time ice hockey gold medallist from Canada, tweeted that pressing on without considering other measures was “insensitive and irresponsible.”
“This crisis is bigger than even the Olympics,” Wickenheiser said.
“The uncertainty of not knowing where to train tomorrow, as facilities close and qualification events are cancelled all over the world, would be terrible if you have been training for this.
“To say for certain they will go ahead is an injustice to the athletes training and global population at large.”
Olympic pole vault champion Katarina Stefanidis was quoted as fearing there would be no level playing field in Tokyo and Germany’s canoeing gold medallist Hoff struck a similar line.
“I understand the measures, they are important,” Hoff told Wednesday’s Berliner Zeitung in reference to Germany closing sports facilities as one measure to contain the virus.
“But we have been stripped of our working basis … If training in Europe is suspended for a month or two I don’t have to compete against the rest of the world in August,” Hoff said.
Heptahlon world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson of Britain tweeted the IOC and governments are “at odds with one another” because governments have imposed lockdowns and isolation as sports facilities are closed and training “impossible.”
In football, Juventus’ Blaise Matuidi and Verona’s Mattia Zaccagni have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the Serie A tally of infected players to 13, the two clubs announced late Tuesday.
In tennis, the US Open grand slam said it may look into a new date after the French Open announced Tuesday it would move from May/June to a September 20-October 4 slot, staring just one week after the end of the US Open.
The decision by French organizers led to surprise in the sport because they reportedly did not consult the other grand slams, the International Tennis Federation and the women’s and men’s tours WTA and ATP, but only informed them of their decision. Other tournaments, including the Laver Cup, are scheduled for that period.
“These are unprecedented times, though, and we are assessing all of our options, including the possibility of moving the tournament to a later date,” a statement from the ruling body USTA said.
“At a time when the world is coming together, we recognize that such a decision should not be made unilaterally, and therefore the USTA would only do so in full consultation with the other Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA and ATP, the ITF and our partners, including the Laver Cup,” it added. (dpa)
