Cancellation of Tokyo Olympics still possible

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 28 April 2020

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have been postponed to the summer of 2021.

Although a decision was made a month ago to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympics until the summer of 2021, there are new fears that some of the Cayman Islands’ top athletes will not share the global stage with other elite sporting personalities in the Japanese capital after all.

According to multiple international reports, Games chief Yoshiro Mori has said the Tokyo Games would be scrapped, if faced with another delay to the global showcase.

“No. It will be cancelled then,” Mori said when asked about another postponement of the Olympics that are now scheduled for 23 July – 8 August 2021 after being pushed back to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic.

However, he was confident the Games would go ahead next year. “This Olympics would be much more valuable than any Olympics in the past if we could go ahead with it after winning this battle,” he told Japanese publication Nikkan Sports.

“We have to believe this, otherwise our hard work and efforts will not be rewarded.”

As it stands, track and field sprinter and 100m national record holder Kemar Hyman is the only athlete who has qualified to represent the Cayman Islands, although Cayman Sports Buzz understands swimmer Brett Fraser was on the cusp of making the grade. It is expected that five other Caymanian athletes might have earned “universality” spots.

The universality quota placements are awarded by the International Olympic Committee to promote sports development, provide equal opportunity to smaller countries and progress the competitive ambitions of emerging nations.

However, with the COVID-19 situation evolving daily and more than three million cases and in excess of 200,000 deaths across the globe, officials are cautious to note that it’s not all smooth sailing in relation to plans to hold the Games a year later than originally planned.

President of Japan’s medical association, Dr Yoshitake Yokokura said that it would be “difficult to hold the Olympics” without an effective coronavirus vaccine.

“I am not saying that (Japan) should or shouldn’t host it, but I expect it would be difficult to do so,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday. “If the infections are under control in Japan, it will still be difficult to hold the games unless the pandemic is over in the rest of the world.”