Canadian athletes will not be participating in the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games.
A joint statement from the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) says the difficult decision has been made not to send Canadian teams to the Olympic and Paralympics games in the summer of 2020.
“While we recognize the inherent complexities around a postponement, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our athletes and the world community,” says the statement.
The COC and CPC urgently call on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to postpone the Games for one year and we offer them our full support in helping navigate all the complexities that rescheduling the Games will bring.
Meanwhile, the IOC said late Sunday that it would take four weeks to weigh options for the Tokyo Games amid mounting calls from athletes and Olympic officials for a postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The IOC says the time will be used to plan different scenarios for the July 24-Aug. 9 games.
“Though cancelling the Tokyo Olympics is not an option, a delay until later this year or in 2021 is possible.”
Commenting on the IOC’s plan to examine the situation over the next four weeks, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says a postponement of the Tokyo Olympics would be unavoidable if the games cannot be held in a complete way because of the coronavirus impact.
Speaking at a parliamentary session, Abe ruled out the possibility of a cancellation.