USA TRACK & FIELD ADVOCATES FOR OLYMPIC GAMES POSTPONEMENT
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2020 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - Used with permission.
(21-Mar) -- USA Track & Field (USATF), the governing body for athletics and road and mountain running in the United States, is the latest national governing body to advocate for the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics scheduled to begin on Friday, July 24. In a letter made public today, USATF CEO Max Siegel implored Sarah Hirshland, the CEO of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), to seek a delay in the Games due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"Unfortunately, while our world class athletes are willing to push themselves to their athletic limits in pursuit of Olympic success, the likelihood that they will be able to properly train in a safe and adequate environment, and replicate the excellence we have come to expect, does not appear likely in the midst of this global crisis," Siegel wrote. "As we have learned, our athletes are under tremendous pressure, stress, and anxiety and their mental health and wellness is among the highest priorities."
Siegel then asked for a postponement of the Games, but did not specify a time frame.
"USATF is respectfully requesting that the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) advocate to the IOC for the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo," Siegel continued. "We certainly understand the ramifications of this request, and the realities of trying to coordinate the logistics of a postponed Olympic Games around the schedule of other athletes, sports federations, key stakeholders, etc., but the alternative of moving forward in light of the current global situation would not be in the best interest of our athletes (as difficult as that decision might be)."
Siegel's letter comes just one day after Tim Hinchey III, CEO of USA Swimming, wrote a similar letter to the USOPC. Hinchey argued that the Games should be postponed by a full year.
"As a leader to our 400,000 members and many of the world's top Olympic champions, I feel compelled to speak out about the pending Olympic Games in Tokyo in July 2020," Hinchey wrote. He continued: "It is with the burden of these serious concerns that we respectfully request that the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee advocate for the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 by one year."
Athletics and swimming are two of the United States' most important Olympic Sports. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Team USA won 121 total medals (46 gold) across all sports and disciplines. Out of those, track and field athletes won 32 medals (13 gold), and swimmers won 33 medals (16 gold). These two sports accounted for 54% of the total USA medal haul, and 63% of the gold medals.
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, more and more athletes are concerned that they will not be able to train properly for the Games, or even achieve qualifying performances due to a lack of competitions. Pole vaulter Sandi Morris, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist, has asked the athletics community to step back, look at the bigger picture, and help protect society at large.
"I think it's every person's duty as a citizen to think of the others who aren't as healthy as I am," said Morris in a video posted to her Twitter feed. "Now there's even statistics showing that people in their 20's can't handle this virus without a vaccine. So, we do have to think about the general public, we have to think about one another at a time like this."
The IOC's position has been that the Games should be held, if possible, and they are moving forward based on the current schedule. In their most recent statement, on March 17, they said: "The IOC remains fully committed to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and with more than four months to go before the Games there is no need for any drastic decisions at this stage; and any speculation at this moment would be counter-productive."
PHOTO: USA Track & Field CEO Max Siegel speaking at the 2019 USATF Convention (photo via Facebook)
