Organizers eventually decided that holding the Tokyo Games earlier in 2021 would be untenableGETTY IMAGES
The 33 sports that make up the Summer Olympic program “voted unanimously" yesterday to "delay the Tokyo Games by a full year,” which was followed moments later by the official announcement, according to Andrew Dampf of the AP. IOC President Thomas Bach “held three conference calls before giving the go-ahead” to the July 23-Aug. 8 dates, talking to local organizers in Tokyo, the IOC’s Exec Board and the Association of Summer Olympic Int'l Federations. ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said, “Everyone was convinced that this was the best solution.” Dampf noted it was important to keep the participation of the NBA, MLB and golf and tennis players, as was “keeping NBC happy.” It ultimately was decided that the “prospect of placing the games earlier in the year -- when many professional athletes would be unavailable -- became untenable.” Ricci Bitti: “The biggest reason is participation. For other dates, many sports -- especially the professional ones -- wouldn’t have had this (availability). There are too many things that coincide.” He added that “'at least six or seven professional sports’ wouldn’t guarantee that their athletes would participate if the games were held earlier” (AP, 3/30).
PLANNING AHEAD: In Toronto, Doug Smith writes the early decision on when the Games will be held “at least gives athletes some clarity and might allow them to start plotting out some kind of training regimen today” (TORONTO STAR, 3/31). USA TODAY’s Nancy Armour writes if the Olympics are to be held, “every day from now until then matters.” The possibility remains that "we will reach this same point next year and realize that the Games can’t go on as re-scheduled, either,” but that would be the case “whether the IOC announced a date now or in three weeks” (USA TODAY, 3/31). However, USA TODAY’s Christine Brennan writes the IOC has “displayed how utterly tone deaf it can be.” Brennan: “Everyone on earth is trying to live through, cope with and survive a pandemic. We don’t need to know the date of an event in 2021, even if it’s the world’s largest. Not today” (USA TODAY, 3/31).
