This summer’s Olympic games have been postponed until 2021, according to veteran International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound. The news was first reported by USA Today Sports’ Christine Brennan.
The details of the postponement have yet to be decided, but Pound assured USA Today Sports in a phone interview that the Olympic games in Tokyo will not be starting on its scheduled July 24 date.
The postponement seemed inevitable as the world has almost come to a standstill in its efforts to limit infection to COVID-19. The virus has directly caused the cancellation or postponement of every professional and collegiate league in the United States alone.
On Sunday, the Canadian and Paralympic Committees announced that no Canadian athletes would participate in the Olympics if it were not postponed. It was only a matter of time before the decision was made.
The Olympics have never been suspended before, but they have been canceled in 1916, 1940 and 1944 during World War I and World War II.
Some current and former UF athletes who were expected to travel to Tokyo and compete this summer were swimmer Caeleb Dressel, sprinter Grant Holloway and soccer player Deanna Rose.
UF track-and-field coach Mike Holloway was also going to coach the U.S. track-and-field team.
@JosephSalvador_
Grant Holloway, a former UF track star, was expected to compete in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
