Report: 2020 Tokyo Olympics postponed because of covid-19 pandemic

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Report: 2020 Tokyo Olympics postponed because of covid-19 pandemic

Bret Gibson | Monday, March 23, 2020 4:24 p.m.

The Olympic rings are reflected Monday in the glass wall of a wedding chapel in the Odaiba section of Tokyo. The Tokyo Olympics could happen — but almost surely in 2021 rather than in four months as planned.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be postponed as a result of the global coronavirus outbreak, according to a senior member of the International Olympic Committee.

IOC member Dick Pound confirmed the news Monday to USA Today.

“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound told the newspaper. “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”

The decision would mark the first time an Olympic Games has been postponed.

The IOC had been leaning on waiting until late April before deciding whether the games should be canceled, postponed or moved.

Major Olympic nations such as Canada and Australia have added pressure by saying they will not send teams if the games are staged this year.

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