Canadians begin planning for Tokyo 2021
Canadian athletes are recalibrating their lives now that the Tokyo Games are postponed until 2021.
Tuesday’s announcement by International Olympic Committee and Japan’s organizers came less than 48 hours after Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic committees declared they would not send teams to Tokyo this year.
Canadian sprint star Andre De Grasse said he is relieved the emotional roller-coaster he’s been riding has levelled out somewhat.
“I’m at peace with the Olympics being postponed until 2021,” he told The Canadian Press on Tuesday. “The last few weeks have been difficult. At first, I convinced myself that COVID-19 was going to go away in time for the Games to be held this summer. But when we lost access to our training facilities a week ago, I started to have some real doubts.
“It was a bold but impressive move for the COC and CPC to lead the charge in pushing for the Games to be postponed. We’re all fighting for something much more important than medals at the moment.”
Olympic champion wrestler Erica Wiebe said “there was a collective sigh of relief.
“It’s given athletes a sense of security knowing we still have time to qualify for the
Olympics, to train and compete at the Olympics at our best and to be able to address the concerns of safety within our communities.”
COVID-19 has infected more than 422,000 and killed nearly 20,000 people world-wide.
With only 57% of Olympic qualification spots determined and athletes unable to train because of shuttered facilities, the IOC was under increasing pressure to reschedule. The opening ceremonies were to be held July 24, followed by the Paralympic Games on Aug. 25.
The IOC stated Sunday it would take four weeks to make a decision. But the Australian Olympic Committee quickly joined Canada in refusing to send teams to Tokyo this summer.
“I didn’t speak to Australia until after we’d made our decision so I was quite surprised,” COC president Tricia Smith said.
USA Gymnastics then added its voice to that country’s governing bodies of track and field and swimming in calling for postponements.
IOC president Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe jointly made the call Tuesday to reschedule for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games.
The Olympics of 1916, 1940 and 1944 were cancelled outright because of war.
Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic committees issued a joint statement lauding the decision. Those organizations now face a quick turnaround between the Summer Games in 2021 and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
“I’ll start by taking a deep breath,” COC CEO David Shoemaker said. “That is not lost on our games operations team. … We know that interval now will be shrunk very materially. It could be as little as six months apart.”