These COVID-19 cases are getting much more serious and who knows what can ever happen next, especially with the world going on lockdown and huge events getting cancelled or postponed. That being said, the Olympics 2020 was one of it. It was officially reported that the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach have come to an agreement to delay the games due to the global pandemic. Both parties have agreed on how it was only appropriate to postpone the event. This decision benefits the athletes in a way since they would have sufficient time to train and be on their best shape for the games. Of course, the safety of the spectators during the Games was also taken into account upon making this decision.
The Games will be pushed forward to the summer of 2021 and not later than that. This is to make sure that the health of the athletes is not being affected and will still have the capability to compete. Even though the Games has been delayed, the name of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games will still be known to the public as “Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020”. The name will act as a reminder to people that they have gone through the darkest time in life.
With the Games delayed, some athletes have expressed their sentiments about the situation. Heptathlete and world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson uttered that it was heartbreaking when she received the news. Whereas Olympic track cycling champion Elinor Barker was left “devastated”. It was certainly a difficult situation to swallow as they will need to rearrange their training routine. As for the new athletes, their debut in the sports world will have to wait, the same goes to those athletes who are waiting to make their mark for the last time before retiring for good.
Adam Peaty, a 100-meter breaststroke champion relay how it is good for the athletes, as most of them are under a lot of pressure. However, all of them concluded how the health of people come first, while the Games come second. Thus, it is an important task right now for these athletes to not only maintain their physical health but mental health too.
Pictures by @thomasroehler, @katefrench3 & @kerorokero