Australia will not send athletes to Tokyo Olympics

The Australian Olympic Committee’s executive board met by teleconference Monday and unanimously agreed that an Australian Olympic team could not be assembled given the changing circumstances across the world, the committee said in a statement. The committee also said “our athletes now need to prioritise their own health and of those around them, and to be able to return to the families.” “It’s clear the Games can’t be held in July,” said Ian Chesterman, Australian Team Chef de Mission for Tokyo. “Our athletes have been magnificent in their positive attitude to training and preparing, but the stress and uncertainty has been extremely challenging for them.”

Tokyo Olympics to be postponed?

The prospect of postponing the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games looms larger than ever after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that delaying the event may be the only option to avoid exacerbating the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. His remarks came a day after the International Olympic Committee announced it would decide the fate of the games in four weeks after further discussion with organizers.

The prime minister, who had previously …

The prime minister, who had previously said he hopes to hold the 2020 Games in “complete form,” acknowledged during a parliamentary session for the first time that doing so may be impossible. “When it comes to hosting the 2020 Games, I don’t believe the world is in any condition to do so at this time,” Abe said during a parliamentary session Monday.

Canada refusing to send athletes to the Olympics if not postponed