I remember right when March Madness got canceled, there were a lot of sportsbooks offering odds on if the 2020 Olympics would get canceled or not. The odds for yes were around +800.
That line alone shows how unlikely this was to happen. The Olympics are the so-called “king” of all sports, and for many reasons.
Even when the NCAA Tournament was canceled, everybody still thought the Olympics would happen. Coronavirus struck the sports world once again, unfortunately forcing the postponement of the 2020 Olympics.
“(The Olympics) 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 and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee later said.
“We agreed that a postponement would be the best way to ensure that the athletes are in peak condition when they compete and to guarantee the safety of the spectators,” Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, told reporters.
The plan is to still have the 2020 Olympics take place in Tokyo, but it will be next summer. Officials from both teams hope to have the Olympics underway by July 2021. The postponement of the Olympics really hurts the hosting country, Japan, as they have already invested $12 billion into this year’s Olympics.
The estimated loss of revenue from domestic consumption is $4.5 billion for the country of Japan.
The Right Move
Participants from many different countries were disappointed but knew it was the right move for the world’s safety.
“It’s only just been announced, so I don’t know exactly how the riders feel about it, but we’ll discuss it in the morning during training,” Benoît Vêtu, head coach of the Japan Cycling Team told the Guardian. “I know for sure that they will stay motivated for another year. We have a very big group with some talented riders, and now they have an extra year to keep improving.”
“We also realize that today’s decision has significant financial implications for our high-performance system and we are working hard to identify the wide-ranging impacts and scenarios, and are in close contact with government to establish how best to support our summer Olympic and Paralympic sports and athletes to be ready for the Games when they do take place.” Sally Munday, CEO of UK Sport, said.
The postponement of the 2020 Olympics hits home for a lot of people across the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the sports world this year and continues to do so. Hopefully, it will end soon, and sports will get back on track, from the NBA and NHL to the Olympics.
Major League Baseball also announced on Wednesday that players are eager to start playing and would be willing to waive the 17-day rule. This requires a break in play after a 17-day span.
This move may push back the 2020 World Series, which might not be the best idea considering the NFL will be nearing the playoffs then.
