Amid the widespread of COVID-19 across the world, various sporting events have been cancelled or postponed. Eventually, a lot of speculations are being raised upon the organization of Olympics 2020. Meanwhile, the authorities stay put on the organization of the event, team Canada becomes the first to withdraw from the event.
The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee announced the withdraw of team Canada from the upcoming Olympic event due to the rapid spread of novel Coronavirus.
“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," a statement released by the committees.
"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," it further mentioned.
Meanwhile, the IOC stated that they would hold a discussion about the organization of the event, pondering upon options of putting back the July 24 start date or moving the event by a year or two. However, cancelling the game will be an option on the table as it won’t help anybody.
While the Olympics have never been postponed or cancelled, Canada’s withdrawal will definitely put up pressure on the board to alter the schedule.
