Bach calls for sacrifices from all sides
Rescheduling Games is a challenging task
TOKYO: International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said yesterday that the postponed Tokyo Games would require “sacrifices and compromises” from all sides to make them work.
“These postponed Olympic Games will need sacrifices, will need compromises by all of the stakeholders,” Bach told reporters in a conference call the day after the IOC decided to delay the 2020 Games because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The IOC’s role, Bach said, was “to make the Olympic dreams of athletes come true”.
He admitted that cancelling the Tokyo Games was “discussed and considered”, but said: “It was very clear from the beginning that cancellation was not something the IOC would in any way favour.”
It is the first Olympic Games in peacetime to be postponed.
Bach said the rescheduling of the Games in 2021 remained a “very challenging question”.
A taskforce, named ‘Here We Go,’ had been created to examine the issue, Bach added, saying the first port of call would be with the 33 international federations, likely starting with a conference call today.
“The first step, we have to see with them, to see what the options are. We also have to take into account the sports calendar around the Olympic Games,” the German said.
The rescheduling, he added, “is not restricted just to the summer months. All the options are on the table, before and including the summer of 2021”.
Both World Athletics and the International Swimming Federation say they are prepared to move their 2021 world championships to accommodate the rescheduled Games.
The athletics world championships are due to be held in Eugene, Oregon, from Aug 6-15 next year, with the swimming worlds at Fukuoka in Japan between July 16 and Aug 1.
One of the many logistical headaches caused by the historic postponement of the Tokyo Olympics has been the uncertainty around the Athletes’ Village overlooking Tokyo Bay.
Touted by developers as a “flagship neighbourhood for urban lifestyles”, the buildings housing the 11,000 competitors were to be hastily repurposed into more than 4,000 condos with stunning city views, some carrying a price tag of 170 million yen (US$1.5 million).
When asked about how a postponement might affect the Village and its conversion, Bach said: “I cannot tell you what the situation is.
“It’s one of the many thousand of questions the taskforce has to address.
“It’s the Olympic Village [where] the heart of the Games is usually beating.”
Bach, who was part of West Germany’s gold medal-winning foil fencing team at the 1976 Olympics, added: “Of course, I’d be very, very delighted if we could have the Olympic Village in the traditional form.
“Everybody who has once lived in an Olympic village knows that this is the real Olympic experience, that this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“Living under one roof with the whole world, sharing your meals together, celebrating together, discussing together, and forming this unique Olympic unity.”
Bach concluded by saying: “We are at an unprecedented situation and have an unprecedented challenge.
“We have to find the best possible solution under the circumstances that we are living in.”
RIGHT DECISION
Prospective Olympic competitors were quick out of the blocks after the Tokyo Games were postponed until 2021 and most gave the decision the thumbs up on social media.
The consensus was the IOC had made the right decision in the face of the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“All in all a very wise decision,” tweeted Eliud Kipchoge, the Olympic marathon champion and the only man to run the distance in less than two hours.
“I look forward to come back to Japan to defend my Olympic title next year and look forward to witness a wonderful event.”
Italian cyclist Elia Viviani, a track gold medallist at Rio 2016, whose country has recorded most deaths from Covid19, summed up much of the reaction when he tweeted: “Postponing the Olympics to 2021 is the best decision for me. Today we are all struggling with a much bigger problem .... So Olympics see you in 2021!”
At 25, British diver Tom Daley, who has won medals at the last two Olympics, said the extra year would take a toll.
“Yes, I’ll be another year older, and my body will feel that, but I promise to work my tail off”.
Among athletes who might feel the stopwatch is against them, there was support.
Mary Kom, a 38-year-old Indian boxer and a member of parliament, tweeted: “Excellent and right decision.”
Carli Lloyd, a 37-year-old US footballer who has two Olympic gold medals, said: “It’s bigger than an Olympics. I definitely think it’s the right call.
“Disappointed... but I think for the safety of everybody, it’s definitely the best thing.”