USA Track and Field pushes for 2020 Tokyo Olympics to be postponed for athletes’ safety

It joins USA Swimming in calling for the Olympics to be postponed.

Less than 24 hours after USA Swimming published a letter to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee asking for it to advocate that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics be postponed, U.S. Track and Field publicly did the same.

The International Olympic Committee has repeatedly expressed its hope that the Summer Games will take place as scheduled and encouraged athletes to continue training as usual. But that’s simply not possible for many anymore amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter dated Friday but tweeted out Saturday morning, USATF chief executive officer Max Siegel said the health and safety of the athletes are the governing body’s top priority, but the COVID-19 outbreak has hindered athletes’ abilities to safely train.

So it’s asking the USOPC to make a case to the International Olympic Committee for postponing the Games, echoing what USA Swimming argued. However, unlike the swimming governing body which suggested 2021, USATF didn’t suggest a timeframe for the Games to happen.

In USATF’s letter, it wrote

This is a critical time for our athletes to train and compete, as they seek to put themselves in the best possible position to represent out country, Team USA and Team USATF. Our goal remains to achieve athletic excellence during the Olympic Games, but not at the expense of the safety and well-being of our athletes.

Unfortunately, while our world class athletes are willing to push themselves to their athletic limits in pursuit of Olympic success, the likelihood that they will be able to properly train in a safe and adequate environment, and replicate the excellence we have all come to expect, does not appear likely in the midst of this global crisis. As we have learned, our athletes are under tremendous pressure, stress and anxiety, and their mental health and wellness is among our highest priorities.

The right and responsible thing to do is to prioritize everyone’s health and safety, and appropriately recognize the toll this difficult situation has, and continues to take, on our athletes and their Olympic Games preparations. We are all experiencing unfathomable disruptions, and everyone’s lives are being impacted accordingly.

The swimming and track and field governing bodies represent two of the biggest Olympic sports in the U.S., and, as USA TODAY Sports noted, they combined for 31.5 percent of Team USA’s 558 total athletes at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

In some cases, they, like so many other athletes in the U.S. and around the world, cannot train while social distancing or go to their practice venues, many of which have closed. Current and retired athletes have been vocal about why they think the Olympics should be pushed back. The Opening Ceremony is scheduled for July 24.

Here’s how Olympian Lolo Jones reacted to USATF’s request:

A member of the Japanese Olympic Committee’s executive board, Kaori Yamaguchi, a retired judo athlete, said the IOC is “putting athletes at risk” by encouraging them to continue training.

[jwplayer 1ATsghiY-q2aasYxh]

[vertical-gallery id=903671]