It has been announced in the last hour that the Tokyo
2020 Olympic Games will be held from the 23rd July 2021 and will run
until the 8th August 2021. This announcement was made following an
IOC Executive Board meeting today. The Opening Ceremony of the XXXII Olympic
Games had been scheduled for the 24 July this year and were forced to be
postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The delay of one year was
agreed by the board following discussions with the Tokyo 2020 organising
committee and the International Federations.
A Statement from Team Ireland in the last hour welcomed the announcement saying that The confirmation of a date provided clarity for the Olympic Federation of Ireland who can begin work on the addressing the operational adjustments that need to take place following this reschedule.
Speaking today, Chef de Mission for Team Ireland in Tokyo, Tricia Heberle welcomed the clarification of a date,
“Now the athletes have a start date for the Games, they can work with their Performance Directors and coaches to start mapping out preparations. Importantly for athletes and sport, the next information we need clarity on are any changes to qualification and the rescheduling of qualification events. This will take some time, so in the short term the focus remains the same, stay healthy and safe over the coming months.
“The priority now is for everyone to following the government guidelines to protect Ireland and the rest of the world against further spread of this virus. A July 2021 start means that we have plenty of time to reactivate preparatory plans and for athletes currently in modified training or on a break of sorts, this period of time can still allow some positive impact on performance.
“If we are smart, this enforced break can make Team Ireland even better.”
For the full IOC statement CLICK HERE
