U.S. Olympic Committee says 'path toward postponement is the most promising'
Survey reveals 7 in 10 U.S. Olympic hopefuls favour delayed Games
Leaders of the U.S. Olympic team said "it's more clear than ever that the path toward postponement" of the Tokyo Games "is most promising" — a conclusion drawn from a survey in which nearly seven in 10 American Olympic hopefuls say they don't think the games will be fair if held in July.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee sent a survey over the weekend to more than 4,000 athletes for details on how the coronavirus pandemic has influenced their training and their feelings about the upcoming games; they received responses from 1,780.
Sixty-nine per cent said they would feel comfortable competing in July if the World Health Organization — one of the groups consulting with the IOC — deemed it safe. But virtually that same number — 68 per cent — said they didn't think the Olympics would be fair under those circumstances.
The best explanation for that has been the massive disruption in training schedules, as athletes prepare for qualifying events this spring and summer. Other concerns were over unfair qualifying standards and the undermining of worldwide drug-testing protocols.
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With city and state governments closing gyms and asking people to stay in their homes, fewer than one in 10 of the athletes said they can continue to train without any impact. And 65 per cent said that continuing to train and prepare will put their health at risk.
The USOPC has come under criticism for not advocating for a postponement, which is the position taken by its own sports organizations in swimming, track and gymnastics, along with national committees in Canada, Australia, Brazil and Germany.
Part of the hesitance, CEO Sarah Hirshland told The Associated Press on Sunday, was to get a clearer picture from athletes about their training conditions and their feelings. Armed with the data, Hirshland and board chair Susanne Lyons put out their strongest statement to date.
"It's more clear than ever that the path toward postponement is the most promising, and we encourage the IOC to take all needed steps to ensure the Games can be conducted under safe and fair conditions for all competitors," they said in a statement.
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The calls for postponement are growing seemingly by the hour, and the chances of it happening felt virtually certain by Monday evening.
An IOC member, Craig Reedie, told AP that conditions in Japan and worldwide "clearly indicates the likelihood of postponement." The decision will be made within four weeks, with IOC President Thomas Bach guiding the outcome.
Bach has taken the idea of a full cancellation off the board, and the American athletes agreed with that view: 93 per cent said they preferred the option of postponing over cancelling.
USA Gymnastics asks for delay
Meanwhile, you can add USA Gymnastics to the growing chorus of high-profile organizations asking for the 2020 Olympics to be delayed.
President Li Li Leung said Monday that a majority of senior national team members indicated in an anonymous survey that they would prefer the games be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Leung said 80 per cent of the athletes responded by Monday's deadline and that the majority were in favour of a postponement.
"Many of our athletes cited risk of health and safety of community and world if Olympics were held," Leung said. "They [also] felt holding the games would be seen as unfair because of the impact on training schedules and it would be an unfair playing field for the athletes."
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Leung said her organization would not specify how long of a delay it is requesting but added that most respondents were OK with holding the games in 2021. She said those who wanted the games to go forward as scheduled were concerned about whether their bodies could withstand another year of training. Some respondents also worried about whether they could absorb the cost of extending their elite careers an additional 12 months.
Asked what recourse USA Gymnastics might have to financially assist athletes if the Olympic cycle is extended a year, Leung said, "We are in the process of trying to figure out if we are able to support these athletes going forward."