AOC denies collusion over Tokyo
THE Australian Olympic Committee says its decision to pull out of the 2020 Tokyo Games had been unilateral and made without the knowledge of Canada or the International Olympic Committee.
The AOC said last Monday it could not assemble a team for 2020 due to coronavirus, the announcement coming quickly after Canada confirmed it would not send athletes.
The double withdrawal prompted speculation the two Olympic committees might have acted together with the IOC to give the global body leverage to postpone Tokyo. Canada on Friday denied any such arrangement, and the AOC followed suit on Monday.
“Any assertions that a decision by the Australian Olympic Committee to tell its athletes to plan for a Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 was done in concert with either the International Olympic Committee or the Canadian Olympic Committee are completely incorrect,” the AOC said in a statement.
The AOC said its decision followed a sequence of events, which included the IOC’s announcement that the global body was conducting “scenario planning” for Tokyo, with postponement among the options.
The IOC’s announcement came a day after Australia announced measures aimed at containing COVID-19.
“This meant our athletes could not continue their training programs,” the AOC said.
The effect of the government measures and the IOC’s scenario planning prompted a meeting last Monday of the AOC’s executive board.
“The effect of these measures, as outlined, informed the executive’s conclusion that an Australian team could not depart our shores for a Games at any time within the next six month,” the AOC said.