The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo has officially been postponed because of Coronavirus. That was the decision on Tuesday after the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach met with Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.
In an unprecedented decision, the Olympic Games are being postponed to another year for the first time ever. The plan at the moment is to have the Olympic Games in 2021.
In the past, the 1940 Olympic Summer Games and 1940 Olympic Winter Games were also to be held in Japan (summer in Tokyo and winter in Sapporo), but were forced to be outright cancelled because of World War II. There was also supposed to be a 1916 Olympic Summer Games in Berlin, Germany, however that was cancelled because of World War I.
A major reason why the Olympic Games has been postponed is because of the strong position made by the Canadian Olympic Committee on Sunday. In a remarkable announcement, the Committee stated they would not send athletes to Tokyo at this time because of the concern of Coronavirus.
By putting the health of athletes first, the COC received overwhelming praise among many within high performance sport on the global stage. Canadian athletes meanwhile had a united voice saying a postponement of the Olympic Games by a year was definitely the right decision.
