Canada has pulled out of this summer’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Several athletes, sporting federations and fans have been calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone the games because of the coronavirus, which has killed over 14,600 people worldwide.
The virus caused many qualifying events to be postponed or cancelled in the last two months. Some athletes are unable to train due to the containment measures in their country.
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), in a statement, said they received the backing of the Athletes’ Commissions, National Sports Organizations and the Government of Canada to make “the difficult decision to not send Canadian teams” to Tokyo.
“The COC and CPC urgently call on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to postpone the Games for one year and we offer them our full support in helping navigate all the complexities that rescheduling the Games will bring,” the release said.
“This is not solely about athlete health – it is about public health. With COVID-19 and the associated risks, it is not safe for our athletes, and the health and safety of their families and the broader Canadian community for athletes to continue training towards these Games,” the release continued.
“In fact, it runs counter to the public health advice which we urge all Canadians to follow.”
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Pressure is being put on the IOC to act …..
The dominoes are falling…
Agree wholeheartedly
That is the right option or follow US and push it to next year is that so hard
I Agree i Think they should Cancel it until nxt yr
Even if it is held next year?
Agree. These athletes not getting any training time
There is nothing pre- mature in regards to saving people from this pandemic
I was cheering for Canada for Andre
This is only the beginning, unless the IOC postpones.
Good let them stay home it’s not like they were going to win any medals anyways I think we need to not jump the gun too early let’s WAITE and hear from the dr and scientist and not make decisions based on emotions!
Yes
May be a premature decision
Totally up to them. Other countries would soon follow suit.
I agree
Absolutely!