IOC Member Dick Pound Says 2020 Tokyo Olympics Will Be Postponed

UPDATE: The Tokyo Olympics were postponed until 2021 on Tuesday.

“In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community,” the IOC said in a statement.

According to International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are going to be postponed.

In an interview with USA Today, Pound said the Tokyo Games will likely be postponed until 2021 and that the details will be worked out in the next four weeks.

“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound told USA Today. “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 comes after multiple countries, including Australia and Canada, informed the IOC that they would not be sending their athletes to Japan to compete if the Games were indeed held this summer.

Now that postponement has been agreed upon, Pound said the IOC will attempt to determine its next steps.

“It will come in stages,” he said. “We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense.”

On Sunday, IOC President Thomas Bach announced the governing body would be using the next four weeks to decide the fate of the Tokyo Olympics.

The Games are scheduled to begin July 24.

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