It’s beginning to look increasingly likely the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics will take place next summer.
The New York Times reports new dates could be announced soon, the opening ceremony scheduled for July 23.
This lines up with had been scheduled for this summer, when the the opening ceremony was to be on July 24.
There had been speculation the Olympics could be moved to the spring. But that doesn’t really fit with the worldwide sports calendar and could cause problems for television. NBCUniversal is paying more than $1 billion for the U.S, rights.
I think later is better than sooner for another reason. At the moment there is no effective treatment for the coronavirus that has caused a global pandemic and turned life upside down everywhere. Scientists are racing to develop a vaccine, but are a long way from the finish line.
Even once there is a vaccine, it will be even longer before it will be widely available.
This story from The Guardian explains the hurdles that need to be cleared before that can happen.
It makes no sense to attempt to stage an Olympics before it is safe. Maybe that will be sooner than now seems likely. Maybe not.
As soon as new dates are announced for the Olympics, we can turn our attention to rescheduling the U.S. Olympic Trials and the 2021 World Outdoor Championships.
Both meets were to be at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, in the final stages of a two-year reconstruction. It now appears the world championships also will be delayed one year, and take place in 2022.
More on the coronavirus and how it has changed the track world in the links below.
Current seniors on the University of Oregon track team could have some decisions to make. (R-G)
Ben Blankenship of Eugene-based OTC Elite says he will be ready for the 2021 Olympic Trials. (KMTR/nbc16.com)
Bowerman Track Club star Shelby Houlihan is ‘bummed’ by the Olympics postponement, but says it was the right call. (Sioux City Journal)
World Athletics replays Sifan Hassan’s stunning run to victory in the 1,500 final at the 2019 World Outdoor Championships. At the time, Hassan was a member of the Portland-based Nike Oregon Project.
In this vlog decathlete Mitch Modin takes viewers through another trackless workout, and has a coffee review, this one from Sisters Coffee Company.
Aisha Praught-Leer says the Olympics are the anthesis of what is needed in the current crisis. (Quad City Times)
Elite pole vaulter Andrew Irwin juggles training with working in the family restaurant and farming. (Track & Field News)
Olympic medalist Nia Ali will wait patiently for 2021. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Pandemic puts shot hopeful Mostafa Hassan’s Olympic dreams on hold. (The Coloradoan)
When the coronavirus forced cancellation of the NCAA Indoor Championships, BYU suffered a double whammy. (Deseret News)
Kara Goucher receives her silver medal from the 2007 World Outdoor Championships. (Daily Camera)
Former LSU star Orlando McDaniel, founder of the North Texas Cheetahs Track Club, succumbs to the coronavirus. (DyeStat)
Ehsan Hadadi, Iran’s only Olympic track medalist, has tested positive for the coronavirus. (NBC)
Tokyo Olympics organizers appear to be leaning away from the spring and toward the summer of 2021. (ESPN)
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe wants to the sport to be more innovative post-coronavirus. (Daily Nation)
The pandemic will likely have an impact on preparations for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. (Inside the Games)
Runners are still finding a release on the road during the coronavirus pandemic.
The 2020 Western States 100-mile endurance run gets canceled because of the pandemic. (Runner’s World)
Larry Stone of the Seattle Times: Jim Pearson has run at least a mile every day for the last 50 years, and he isn’t about to stop.
World Athletics has some reading suggestions if you’re isolating at home and need help passing the time.
The Olympics have been postponed, what it means going forward. This is a Citius Mag podcast.
The front page for LetsRun.com.
The links package from Track & Field News.
The news links from RunnerSpace.com.
-- Ken Goe
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