TOKYO (KETK) – The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo will be postponed due to the coronavirus and likely will not take place until 2021, according to a news report from USA Today.
The report quotes a phone interview with International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound who said that while logistics are still being worked out “the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”
This marks the first time in history that an Olympics has been suspended. Three times they have been flat out canceled: In 1916 for World War I, then again in 1940 and 1944 for World War II.
Other countries have boycotted the Games in the past with the United States doing so in 1980 for the Moscow Summer Olympics due to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. However, the events went on as scheduled.
Pound has been on the IOC for decades and is an influential member of putting on each Olympics. He is from Canada, who announced Sunday night that they would refuse to send any athletes to Tokyo if the Olympics were held in 2020.
The Games become the latest sporting event to have its events canceled or postponed due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
On Sunday, IOC President Thomas Bach originally said that the committee would have four weeks to decide what to do about the original start date. He has ruled out canceling the Olympics outright.
While it appears likely that the Games will not be held in 2020, there has been no official announcement on a rescheduled date.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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