LEADERS FAILING TO TAKE ACTION ON TOKYO 2020
International Olympic Committee facing mounting calls for Games to be postponed
The swelling chorus of reason will eventually drown out the International Olympic Committee’s tone-deaf, show-mustgo-on messaging around Tokyo 2020.
It’s a matter of time, a function of responsibility.
The sentiment coming now from the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee, Alejandro Blanco, from athletes like Greek pole vaulter Katerina Stefanidi and coaches like Stuart Mcmillan of the United States, will wake the IOC into walking back its dismissal of the destructive power that COVID-19 has wielded against the world’s population, its medical systems and economies, governments and international organizations, retail businesses, as well as sports leagues and facilities.
But on Tuesday, the IOC reiterated its mind-boggling corporate stance; the Games are on track to start as scheduled, with no material changes, on July 24.
This did not go over well in Spain.
“The news that we get every day is uncomfortable for all countries in the world, but for us the most important thing is that our sportspersons cannot train and to celebrate the Games would result in unequal conditions,” said Blanco. “We want the Olympics to take place, but with security. We’re an important country in the world and four months before the Games, our athletes can’t arrive in equal conditions.”
Spain is on lockdown, the movements of its citizens and visitors severely restricted. So is Italy. And France. And the Czech Republic. Canadian provinces are under declared states of emergency. The new normal in many countries does not allow for safe daily training, which was the point made Tuesday on Twitter by Stefanidi, the defending women’s Olympic pole vault champ.
“This is not about how things will be in 4 months. This is about how things are now. The IOC wants us to keep risking our health, our family’s health and public health to train every day? You are putting us in danger right now, today, not in 4 months.”
That same day, IOC athletes commission member Hayley Wickenheiser tweeted it was “insensitive and irresponsible given the state of humanity” for the IOC to insist it will move ahead with the Games.
On Wednesday, Mcmillan went on a Twitter rant, channelling the feelings of athletes who can’t reconcile the IOC party line — continue training as normal — with the realities of closed facilities and cancelled qualifying events, as well as the requirement that social distancing prevents people from gathering in groups.
“Obviously, I am but a dumb coach — I know next to nothing about infectious diseases generally, and the coronavirus, specifically — but it is pretty clear by now that the only real strategy we have available to us NOW is social distancing. So that leaves coaches and athletes a choice: self-isolate, and try to make the best of it or continue to gather together in groups with your coach (if you still can), and thus defy what is now the most commonly held belief about reducing the effects of the virus.”
On Wednesday, the IOC responded to the rising tide of criticism from athletes, but the statement opens it up to more.
“This is an exceptional situation which requires exceptional solutions. The IOC is committed to finding a solution with the least negative impact for the athletes, while protecting the integrity of the competition and the athletes’ health. No solution will be ideal in this situation, and this is why we are counting on the responsibility and solidarity of the athletes.”
It’s impossible to protect the integrity of the competition or the health of athletes, officials, coaches, media and spectators if Japan and much of the world is still in a pandemic. Businesses, organizations and governments are all working on contingencies. What if COVID-19 spreads more rapidly between now and July than it has since it was identified in December?
The IOC has said there is no Plan B. Well, postponement for a year is a Plan B, but we haven’t heard that from the IOC.
We did hear some reason from the Canadian Olympic Committee on Tuesday, as the organization penned an open letter to members of Team Canada, putting their hopes for the Olympics to proceed in the proper context.
“The current pandemic is among the most challenging health issues that we have had to confront in many generations,” the letter said. “Lives are at risk on a global basis, and there is an unprecedented level of worry and anxiety in our communities. Sport, understandably and appropriately, ranks low in terms of these priorities and we have seen many sport leagues and circuits suspend operations during this crisis without any clear sense of when normal operations will resume.
“The Canadian Olympic Committee is focusing on what is in front of us and attempting to do all that it can to flatten the infection-rate curve. We will continue to take all steps to protect the health of everyone and work to contain the spread of the virus. All of us play a critical role in mitigating the spread and transmission of the virus, as we follow the recommendations of Health Canada and the World Health Organization. COVID-19 is a constantly evolving situation and is a threat to which many countries are having to adapt. Nobody can know what the coming days, weeks and months will hold. We will do our part.
“Preparation and planning for Tokyo 2020 has been adapted to protect everyone’s health and to slow the virus. This includes having all staff work from home, virtual meetings instead of face-to-face and suspension of non-essential, work-related travel.”
The letter also says an IOC task force incorporating the World Health Organization, the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, Japanese authorities and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government continues to monitor the situation.
It closes with a nod to the IOC, saying that because nobody knows what will happen in four months, there isn’t a need for a “definitive decision today about any changes to the plans to hold the Olympic Games.”
The world needs to hear something far more reasonable and responsible from the IOC today than it has heard even as recently as Tuesday.