The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, likely until 2021, International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound told Christine Brennan of USA TODAY Sports on Monday.
“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound said. “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”
Pound is considered to be one of the most influential members of the IOC and has been for decades. The Committee had originally set a timeline of four weeks to make an official decision on the 2020 Tokyo Games with postponement on the table.
The news comes after Canada announced on Sunday night that they will not send athletes to the Games in Tokyo and called upon the IOC to postpone the event until 2021. Canada became the first country to pull out of the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Canada was set to make a strong run in basketball this summer with several of the top countrymen committing to play in the qualifying tournament in June, including Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, R.J. Barrett, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Oshae Brissett among others.
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