USA gymnastics added its voice to the chorus on Monday, calling for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo to be delayed. The quadrennial event was due to start on the 24th of July, but this prospect has been made increasingly unlikely by the outbreak of coronavirus.
The gymnastics team were preceded in their call by the Swimming and Track and Field organisations. On Monday US Gymnastics chairman and CEO Li Li Leung put pressure on the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee to request the games be postponed to the International Olympic Committee. However, no alternative dates are currently on the table.
Leung told reporters, “This pandemic affects the entire world, and everyone’s health and safety should always be first.”
USA Swimming were first to put in their proposal for a one-year delay on Friday. They were shortly followed by the Track and Field governing body, which requested a delay of unspecified length. With Gymnastics added to the mix, the call seems to have had an effect. The USOPC made the case for postponing the games later that same day.
The three groups represent the most watched sports, and the most lucrative, at the summer Olympic Games. Therefore the vocal support of the US bodies is expected to bring a lot of weight to bear on the IOC’s decision on whether to continue as planned or hold off.
For more sports news, click here.
