IOC 'considering different scenarios' for Tokyo Olympics: Bach

AFP

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said the organization was "considering different scenarios" for the Tokyo Games, but was optimistic about holding the event as scheduled despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The IOC will act on advice from its own taskforce and the World Health Organization, Bach told the New York Times, adding that it was "premature" to make a decision on delaying the Games.

"Of course we are considering different scenarios, but we are contrary to many other sports organizations or professional leagues in that we are four-and-a-half months away from the Games," Bach said.

"For us, (postponement) would not be responsible now and it would be premature to start speculation or make a decision at a time when we do not have any recommendation from the taskforce," he added.

Pressure has been growing on the Games, scheduled to start on July 24, after the COVID-19 outbreak closed sports competitions around the world, and paralysed many countries along with international travel.

Olympic qualifiers are among the tournaments affected, with 43 percent of athletes yet to book their spots. But Bach said the situation was still too uncertain to make a decision about Tokyo.

"What makes this crisis so unique and so difficult to overcome is the uncertainty. Nobody today can tell you what the developments are tomorrow, what they are in one month, not to mention in more than four months," he said.

"Therefore it would not be responsible in any way to set a date or take a decision right now, which would be based on the speculation about the future developments."

The Olympic flame arrived in Japan on Friday to a muted reception, with what should have been a joyous celebration dramatically downscaled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The flame landed on a special charter flight into Matsushima Air Base in the Japanese province of Miyagi, chosen as part of the "Recovery Olympics" to showcase the region's revival after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown.

Former Japanese Olympians Saori Yoshida and Tadahiro Nomura collected the flame from the aircraft and took it through a guard of honor to a cauldron in the shape of a cherry blossom on a stage in front of selected guests.

But some 200 local children who were due to welcome the flame were kept away as part of what organizers called the "heartbreaking" decision to pare back events as the world battles the virus that has killed nearly 10,000 people.