It’s still going to be called Tokyo 2020, but the Olympics and Paralympics are now, most likely, going to be happening in the summer of 2021.
In the wake of Tuesday’s unprecedented announcement — the first time the Games have ever been postponed — a logistical nightmare stands in the way of the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 planning committee.
Athletes have questions they want answered once again, a common theme they’ve been grappling with ever since the global COVID-19 pandemic created havoc with their usual rigid routines.
From venues to scheduling, qualification processes to shifting timelines and financial consequences, the IOC and organizing committee have an enormous amount of work to do — something they could never have expected or planned for even as recently as three months ago.
“It will create some complications, but it’s better than exposing athletes to a dangerous situation,” Canada’s Dick Pound, the longest-serving member of the IOC, told the CBC on Tuesday. “One of the things will be how many of the facilities that were planned for 2020 will be available in 2021. The international sport calendar will have to be rejigged.”
WATCH | Canadian IOC member Dick Pound on postponement:
Canadian IOC member Dick Pound tells the CBC the Tokyo 2020 postponement will have a big impact on the international sports calendar. 8:50
Two massive international events set for summer 2020 — the world athletics and world aquatics championships — will no doubt be affected by the postponement. World Athletics, track and field’s governing body, said Tuesday it’s talking with organizers about alternative dates for the track world championships set for Eugene, Ore., next summer.
The event is currently scheduled to run Aug. 5-15, 2021. That would be in direct conflict if the Games parallel the original schedule set for Tokyo 2020, which were to run July 24 to Aug. 9.
World swimming body FINA also said it will talk to the Japanese organizers of the 2021 world championships about a possible schedule clash with the Tokyo Olympics.The championships are planned for July 16-Aug. 1 in Fukuoka.
Canada’s Andre De Grasse celebrates his silver medal in the 200 metres at the world track and field championships in October. The dates for next year’s championships are in doubt because of the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. (The Associated Press)
And while thousands of athletes worldwide now have some of the clarity they so badly craved since the beginning of the global pandemic, they are also again facing the unknown.
“Utter relief. Excitement. Uncertainty,” Erica Wiebe told CBC Sports following Tuesday’s announcement by the IOC. “We’re in unprecedented times. We’ll be more ready than ever in 2021 and wearing the Maple Leaf with more pride than I thought was possible.”
Two-time Olympic trampoline champion Rosie MacLennan is on the COC’s athletes’ commission and was a vocal proponent of Canada not sending athletes to Tokyo this summer.
The 31-year-old from King, Ont., was relieved the IOC did not wait four weeks to make a decision.
“I know it’s not an easy decision and the process is incredibly complex, but I do think it does give an incredible opportunity for the Olympic Games to be a story of the world coming together and overcoming this virus,” she told Canadian Press. “The last 36 and 48 hours have absolutely been a whirlwind for athletes across Canada and also athletes around the world.”
On Sunday night, it was announced Team Canada would not be attending Tokyo 2020 if they went ahead as scheduled. While it seemed as though a postponement was inevitable, the strong Canadian stance sent a shockwave through the athletic community.
On the outside, it was a united effort as athletes took to social media saying they respected and appreciated the move and that safety was more important than sport. But in the background many Canadian Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls were heartbroken and wondered what it meant for their athletic dreams.
Team Canada’s slogan is “Postpone today. Conquer tomorrow.” The chance to conquer is now once again a reality but getting to Games, whenever they happen, isn’t going to be easy.
“I think everyone in every industry is wondering when we can return to normal life,” Wiebe said.
On March 15, the 2016 Olympic wrestling champion earned her spot to Tokyo 2020. The Stittsville, Ont., native, celebrated on the wrestling mat in Ottawa, somewhat subdued knowing her celebration might be met with not attending the Games this summer.
WATCH | Some Canadian athletes’ careers could be in jeopardy:
CBC Sports’ Scott Russell says the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics could jeopardize careers of some of Canada’s older athletes. 5:57
“It seems a little surreal,” Wiebe, 30, said then. “I’ve been doing this sport for a long time. I thought I had seen it all. But I have yet to experience a global pandemic.”
While Wiebe and so many other Canadian athletes are feeling some relief knowing they will in fact get their chance to compete on the world stage in summer 2021, there’s a barrage of questions spinning through their minds.
“The big uncertainty is what does qualification look like?” Wiebe said Tuesday. “What is the actual postponement start date? Will international federations set up competitions between now and a 2021 Games to mitigate lost competition opportunities leading into a 2021 Games? How will athlete funding be allocated? When will training facilities open again?”
Will international federations set up competitions between now and a 2021 Games to mitigate lost competition opportunities leading into a 2021 Games?– Canadian wrestler Erica Wiebe
It’s an unending list Wiebe is running through over and over.
When Pound was asked about the fate of athletes who have already qualified, his response was anything but reassuring.
“It’s an interesting question. Someone who qualified in 2020 might get surpassed by an up-and-comer by 2021. That’s another negotiation point,” Pound said.
At the time of Tuesday’s announcement, 57 per cent of the athletes set to compete at Tokyo 2020 had qualified, leaving a large number of athletes that have yet to get their chance to earn a spot in the Games.
A number of qualification events have been postponed already, including a last-chance men’s basketball qualifier that was set to take place in Victoria at the end of June. Canada’s team needed to win the tournament to earn a berth to Tokyo.
Canada has already qualified eight teams in various sports, one shy of the record nine teams it sent as the host nation at the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
“Mixed feelings for our athletes,” Seyi Smith, chair of the COC’s Athletes’ Commission, said of Tuesday’s decision. “Good that they can focus on everyone’s collective responsibility to the pandemic now. Bad that meticulous planning for the Games and life planning post-games has been derailed.”
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
