BSP-11 German Olympic chief slams IOC, backs Tokyo delay

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ZCZC

BSP-11

HEALTH-VIRUS-OLY-2020-GER

German Olympic chief slams IOC, backs Tokyo delay

BERLIN, March 24, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The president of Germany’s national
Olympic association (DOSB) Alfons Hoermann on Tuesday called for the Tokyo
Games to be postponed until next year and slammed the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) for its apparent reluctance to reschedule.

“It would have been an enormously valuable signal to the public to call off
the current schedule… the health of the global population has absolute
priority,” said Hoermann in an online statement.

With the global sporting calendar on hold due to the coronavirus crisis,
the IOC has said it is looking into a postponement of the Summer Games.

Hoermann said he welcomed that decision, but said that Germany “would have
liked a clear statement…that the Games cannot take place as scheduled and
that there are now consultations on alternatives.”

“Our athletes are currently in an extremely difficult situation: they are
barely able to train thanks to the official measures and for many, the road
to qualification is unclear or almost impossible,” he added.

Hoermann also warned that “the public perception of the IOC and of sport
as a whole will now be shaped by how the next steps are communicated and
carried out in the next four weeks.”

Germany is not the only country to find fault with the IOC’s approach.

Canada and Australia have already withdrawn their teams, and a growing
number of sports bodies including World Athletics and the US Olympic
Committee have called for the Summer Games to be pushed back.

IOC president Thomas Bach, himself a German, is set to hold telephone talks
with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later Tuesday, and postponement now
seems inevitable.

BSS/AFP/RY/1716 hrs