Cal Athletics: Time is Now for the IOC to Postpone the Tokyo Olympics Until 2021

There was no reason to wait another month in face of the unknowns from COVID-19

I can only imagine how complicated it will be to postpone this summer’s Tokyo Olympics.

I’m also convinced it’s now time for the International Olympic Committee to make that tough call.

The IOC apparently has come around to that view as well. The USA Today is among sources reporting Monday that the Games are going to be postponed, likely to 2021. Here's a link to that story.

Here is link to a video discussing the postponement of the Games until next year.

The global impact of the COVID-19 virus makes it absolutely necessary to reschedule..

The IOC last weekend gave its first indications it is considering a change in plans. Previously, there had been no hint that the July 24-Aug. 9 Games would be canceled or postponed.

Then the IOC is said it will make a decision within a month about postponing the Olympics.

Given what we know about the world-wide pandemic — and especially given what we do not yet know — there was no longer any reason to wait on postponement.

*** For more on the IOC's self-imposed deadline to decide the fate of the Games, watch this video of Sports Illustrated's Chris Chavez discussing the issue over the weekend:

I am not prone to overreaction, and I love the Olympics. I covered four of them - Atlanta, Sydney, Athens and Beijing - and they were the greatest experiences of my professional career.

Still, there was no other conclusion than to reschedule.

Absolutely, there are countless, complicated issues to resolve. The Tokyo Olympics were expected to draw 11,000 athletes, but the parties involved also include national governing bodies, television, advertisers and sponsors and fans planning to visit Japan from around the world, not to mention thousands of other entities that contribute to making the Games happen.

There are contracts and lawyers, and postponing the Games will probably be as challenging as organizing them in the first place.

Cal is a regular and substantial contributor to the Olympics. Athletes from here and around the world attend Cal, and prepare to compete every four years in swimming or water polo or track and field or any number of other sports.

Already Canada has said it will not send a team to Tokyo, meaning that Camryn Rogers, the defending NCAA champion in the hammer throw, will have to put her Olympic dreams on hold.

Governing bodies for track and field and swimming in the United States have voiced their opinion that the Games should be postponed. Momentum had grown toward this  inevitable outcome.

Athletes’ training routines have been turned upside down or halted altogether by the necessary practice of social distancing. Gyms are closed, pools are locked, tracks are off limits. Olympic warmup competitions and team trials have been put on hold or left in limbo.

Where the athletes should have a clear and confident vision of their final few months of preparation, they instead have had distraction and concern and uncertainty.

There was little reason to believe that in one month the IOC would have answers it seeks. It’s hard to imagine anyone knowing for sure the world will be safe enough on July 24 to hold Opening Ceremonies in front of 80,000 fans at the Japan National Stadium.

History will appreciate the IOC doing the right thing, the difficult thing, and putting off the Games until 2021 when athletes can be at their best and everyone involved will, hopefully, be safe again.