An influential member of the International Olympic Committee said the Tokyo Olympics would likely be postponed until 2021.
“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Dick Pound told USA Today. “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.” Pound said he believed the committee would make an announcement soon.
“It will come in stages,” he said. “We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense.”
Australia and Canada said Sunday they would not send athletes to the Summer Olympics because of the threat of the coronavirus. Both called for the games to be postponed a year.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also said the Olympics might have to be delayed. President Trump said the United States would support whatever decision Abe made.
The Olympics are scheduled in Tokyo from July 24 to Aug. 9.
It would be the first time the Olympics have been postponed, though they were canceled during periods of war. World War I led to the cancellation of the 1916 summer games. The Summer and Winter Olympics in 1940 and 1944 were canceled because of World War II.
