The IOC Athletes’ Commission (IOC AC), chaired by 7-time Olympic medal winning swimmer Kirsty Coventry, has released a statement supporting the IOC’s decision to postpone the Tokyo Olympic Games from 2020 to 2021 as part of the global coronavirus pandemic.
The IOC AC has remained in lockstep with the IOC throughout the decision-making process, with last week Coventry posting a video after meeting with athlete representatives where she said that “athletes want the Olympic Games to continue.”
The group’s leadership says that they’ve been engaged with athlete representatives and athletes and on Tuesday held a virtual meeting to discuss the feedback and inform the IOC.
On Wednesday afternoon, the same day as the IOC announced its intention to postpone the Olympic Games to 2021, the global count of confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 400,000.
From the IOC AC Satement:
The IOC Athletes’ Commission welcomes and fully supports the IOC’s decision to postpone the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 until 2021 in order to protect the health of the athletes, as well as wider society.
In recent days and weeks, we have engaged with numerous athlete representatives and the wider athlete community to hear your feedback and the challenges that you are facing due to the impact of COVID-19. We want to take this opportunity to thank you for openly and transparently sharing with us the difficulties that you have been facing and continue to face in these extraordinary circumstances.
The IOC AC held a virtual meeting yesterday to discuss this feedback and inform the IOC. In this respect, we are confident that today’s decision by the IOC is also fully supported by the athlete community.
While you have more clarity now regarding your preparation for the Olympic Games, we encourage you to continue to provide us with your feedback and, very importantly, look after your health, as well as the health of your family and continue to support and be a role model to your community.
On our side, we will continue to:
- Update you on any further developments regarding the Games and qualification systems;
- Enhance the resources and information available to you on Athlete365, including advice on athlete training and preparation, mental and physical health, and anti-doping information and updates from WADA and the ITA.
We encourage all athletes and athlete representatives to continue to share their feedback with us (directly in our app or through [email protected]) and ask any questions you might have, as we strive to support you in the best way we can, as we go through this exceptional situation together.
Stay Strong, Stay Safe, Stay Healthy
The IOC Athletes’ Commission