The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has become the most prominent governing body to call for the 2020 Summer Olympics to be postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The USOPC released a statement Monday night from chair Susanne Lyons and CEO Sarah Hirshland. The executives said they were “thankful to the 1,780 Team USA athletes for sharing their voice and honest input with us,” after sending a survey over the weekend to more than 4,000 athletes for details on how the coronavirus pandemic has influenced their training and their feelings about the upcoming games.
Sixty-nine percent said they would feel comfortable competing in July if the World Health Organization — one of the groups consulting with the IOC — deemed it safe. But virtually that same number — 68% — said they didn’t think the Olympics would be fair under those circumstances.
“We regret that there is no outcome that can solve all the concerns we face,” the USOPC’s statement said. “Our most important conclusion from this broad athlete response is that even if the current significant health concerns could be alleviated by late summer, the enormous disruptions to the training environment, doping controls and qualification process can’t be overcome in a satisfactory manner.
“To that end, it’s more clear than ever that the path toward postponement is the most promising, and we encourage the IOC to take all needed steps to ensure the Games can be conducted under safe and fair conditions for all competitors.”
USA Swimming, USA Track and Field and several individual Olympic athletes urged the committee to request the postponement of the Games.
Hirshland previously told the Associated Press she did not plan to call on the IOC for a postponement, saying her “role is not to make demands.”
Canada’s and Australia’s Olympic committees have said they won’t send their athletes to Tokyo in July if the Games aren’t postponed by a year. The U.S. follows Brazil, Norway, Slovenia and Germany in urging for a postponement while stopping short of promising a boycott.
The IOC’s longest-serving member, Dick Pound, told USA Today that the committee has already decided it will postpone the Olympics, and the IOC responded with a statement neither confirming nor denying that stance.
This story is based in part on wire service reports.
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