Tokyo ‘compromised’
THE Tokyo Olympics loom as compromised competition unable to live up the fair play charter of the Games, Australia’s swimmers say.
Swimming Australia (SA) stopped short of calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone or cancel the Games. But they are appealing to the IOC to put fair play and health foremost when deciding if the Games, due to start July 24, proceed.
SA believe severe restrictions on overseas countries and their athletes amid the coronavirus pandemic make it impossible for the Games to be held on level playing field.
“[It’s] obviously a massive disadvantage around the world now for athletes who are not in a position, and whole countries not in a position, anymore to prepare themselves,” SA’s head coach Jacco Verhaeren said yesterday. “We really recognise how difficult it must be to make these decisions in uncertain times.
“What we stand for as a team, and I think the whole Olympic movement stands for ... is fair play and health.”
Several nations including Italy, Germany, France and the Netherlands have closed high-performance sporting centres amid the coronavirus outbreak.
“The situation is severe ... we have to make sure that we show empathy with our peers but also all the people in the world,” Verhaeren said. “We are talking at the moment in Australia from a position of strength, we are nowhere near to the circumstances [of] other countries.”