Postponement of Olympics in Tokyo appears inevitable

Canada, Germany, Australia say they won’t participate this year

Postponement of the Tokyo Olympics appeared increasingly inevitable Monday as a growing number of countries signaled that their athletes would not participate if the Games were held this summer and Japanese officials conceded for the first time that a delay was possible.

A whirlwind 24-hour period started Sunday with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach issuing a letter to Olympic athletes, saying the IOC was considering delaying the Summer Games

because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Since 1896, the Summer Olympics have taken place every four years except for 1916, 1940 and 1944, when they were canceled because of world wars. Bach said a cancellation had been ruled out and that the IOC would consider different scenarios and make a final decision in the next four weeks.

That long timetable led Canada to call for a postponement Sunday night and say it would not send any athletes to Tokyo if the Games begin as scheduled July 24. Australia and Germany followed with a similar announcements Monday, and other countries, such as Britain, Brazil, Norway and Slovenia, either urged a postponement or said conditions must improve if they are to participate.

Later Monday, Dick Pound, the longest-serving IOC board member, told USA Today that “postponement has been decided,” though the IOC gave no indication Monday that a delay was certain. In a request to comment on Pound's assertion, an IOC spokesman said, “It is the right of every IOC Member to interpret the decision of the IOC [executive board] which was announced yesterday.”

Pound is one of 100 IOC members, having joined the committee in 1978. He is not one of the 15 members of the IOC's powerful executive board, which plays a pivotal role in all important Olympic matters.

Aruban IOC Executive Board member Nicole Hoevertsz said in an email Monday afternoon that the board “discussed and took a decision about” postponement Sunday, signaling the IOC had not changed its stance. She then pointed to the portion of IOC's official statement that said it would start discussions about postponement scenarios and was confident that those discussions would be completed within four weeks.

Postponement of any length involves many complexities, with global and local ramifications on athletes and residents, sponsors and television networks.

Pound did not respond Monday to messages The Washington Post sent. He did speak to the Canadian Press, striking a less-definitive tone.

“You're looking at a postponement,” Pound said. “I think that's out there now. ... We're all reading the tea leaves and so on, but the Japanese themselves are talking about postponing. A lot of National Olympic Committees and countries are calling for a postponement.”

Until Monday, Japan had insisted that the Games must go ahead as scheduled, though Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said last week that the priority must be to hold the Olympics in a “complete manner.” On Monday, he told parliament that this might mean the dates would have to change.