The 2020 Olympics Have Officially Been Postponed
This is a timeline from The Associated Press of the latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
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The Tokyo Olympics have been officially postponed until 2021.
The International Olympic Committee along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and local organizers have decided that the Tokyo Games cannot go ahead as scheduled this year because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The IOC says the games will be held “not later than summer 2021” but they will still be called the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committeehttps://t.co/XNcaa4Gvx8
— Olympics (@Olympics) March 24, 2020
“In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community,” the IOC and Tokyo Organizing Committee said in a joint statement.
“The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present. Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.”
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says IOC President Thomas Bach has agreed “100%” to his proposal of postponing the Tokyo Olympics for about one year until 2021 because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Bach had previously said the IOC would make an announcement about postponing the 2020 Olympics in the next four weeks.
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Taiwan’s professional baseball league has set April 11 as the revised date for opening day.
The start of the Taiwan-based Chinese Professional Baseball League’s season has been delayed twice this month because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The CPBL’s website says the opening game would go ahead in a closed stadium but there could be up to 150 season ticket holders allowed entry under strict social distancing guidelines if the government approves.
Sports leagues across Asia have been postponed or suspended because of the virus outbreak. The professional baseball and soccer leagues in Japan are aiming to start or resume their seasons in late April.
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Japan’s NHK public television says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will propose a one-year postponement for the Tokyo Olympics during talks with IOC President Thomas Bach.
Abe says a postponement is unavoidable if the 2020 Games cannot be held in a complete manner amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Abe held telephone talks with Bach after IOC said it would make a decision on the Tokyo Games over the next four weeks.
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The European club rugby finals in May have been suspended because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Governing body European Professional Club Rugby announced the decision a day after a conference call by the board.
The Champions Cup and second-tier Challenge Cup had already suspended the quarterfinals scheduled for next month. Now the semifinals on May 1-3 and the finals in Marseille set for May 22-23 are off.
EPCR says it “remains committed to completing the 2019-20 Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup season.”
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The Tokyo Olympic torch relay will start Thursday as planned in northeastern Fukushima prefecture but with no torch, no torchbearers and no public because of the coronavirus outbreak.
There will be an Olympic flame carried in a lantern and transported by a vehicle along what organizers hope will be empty roadsides.
The Tokyo Games and the relay have been caught in limbo since International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said four weeks were needed to decide on an inevitable postponement of the planned opening on July 24. He has ruled out a cancellation.
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Australian soccer’s A-League has suspended its season indefinitely because of the coronavirus outbreak.
That brings an end to all professional football competitions in Australia and New Zealand.
Football Federation Australia chief executive James Johnson says the latest measures imposed by the federal government made it impossible for the A-League to continue. The league had only a few regular-season games remaining before the playoffs. Johnson said the postponement will be reviewed on April 22.
Johnson says “as a national competition played in all parts of Australia, as well as New Zealand, mission complicated became mission impossible.”
Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Melbourne City at an empty stadium on Monday was the last game completed. Sydney FC leads the standings with 48 points after 20 games.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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