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On Friday, the Norwegian Olympic Committee and the Confederation of Sports (NIF) put pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to not go ahead with the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. They penned the letter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the same time, IOC member and former Team Canada athlete Hayley Wickenheiser tweeted the same.
Sunday, the Canadian Olympic Committee went a step further and notified the IOC that Canada is out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – a powerful move that should see other nations send notice and therefore force the IOC president Thomas Bach’s hand.
The Athletes’ Commissions, Canadian National Sport Organizations and the Government of Canada, the and CPC added their support to the COC saying, “We made the difficult decision to not send Canadian teams to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020.”
Athletics Australia
AOC plans for postponed Olympic Games
The AOC says Australian athletes should prepare for a Tokyo Olympic Games in the northern summer of 2021, following the IOC’s announcement of a potential postponement of this year’s Games and changes in public health landscape in Australia and across the globe.
The AOC believes our athletes now need to prioritise their own health and of those around them, and to be able to return to the families, in discussion with their National Federations.
The AOC held an Executive Board meeting via teleconference this morning and unanimously agreed that an Australian Team could not be assembled in the changing circumstances at home and abroad.
AOC Chief Executive Matt Carroll says athletes have needed certainty – they wanted to do the right thing for themselves, their families and the world community.
“We have athletes based overseas, training at central locations around Australia as teams and managing their own programs. With travel and other restrictions, this becomes an untenable situation.
“The IOC had adopted the key principles of putting athlete health first and ensuring it acted in their best interests and the interests of sport. This decision reflects those principles.
“We are now in a position where we can plan with greater certainty.”