Olympics - due to the coronavirus, a possible postponement is now conceivable

Of course, the panel distanced itself from what it said, which is a good indication of the disagreement within the IOC, as well as the extent to which members do not see, perceive, or want to see, perceive the weight of the matter.

In an interview with the prestigious U.S. newspaper on Wednesday, Takahasi said the board has not yet discussed the impact of the epidemic on the games, as their last meeting was held in December, before the epidemic broke out.

According to Takahasi, the paper writes, hosting the Games without spectators would cause too much financial damage, while a postponement of less than a year would conflict with other major professional sporting events.

The organizing committee, after consulting with the petitioner, said on Wednesday that Takahasi, according to his own statement, "answered a hypothetical question recklessly by expressing his personal opinion".

Experts say a one-year postponement for the same period next year would cause significant logistical problems, but would be feasible for media broadcasts, as it could be included in the generally loose summer schedule of media with broadcasting rights.

The new type of coronavirus epidemic, which began in China last December, has so far infected more than 116,000 people worldwide and killed more than 4,000 people.

In Japan, nearly 1,300 cases are said to be known, of which about 700 came from passengers on an ocean-going cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo in February. In the Far East, 59 new cases were identified on Tuesday, the largest daily increase to date, according to NHK Japanese public service television.

As the numbers have risen over and over again, the possibility of canceling, postponing, or ultimately holding spectators without spectators has arisen, as has happened with several Olympic qualifiers and some other sporting events in the recent past.

The government’s Olympic minister, Hasimoto Sejko, recently said last Thursday that Japan was preparing for the summer games as planned so far, saying it would be “unacceptable” for athletes to cancel or postpone the Olympics.

Thomas Bach, Chairman of the International Olympic Committee, also stated that neither the postponement nor the cancellation of the Games occurred at the IOC or the Organizing Committee.

(Source: Source: sportrajongo.hu, mti / Photo: pixabay)