London-born world champion swimmer Maggie MacNeil says she agrees with the Canadian Olympic Committee’s (COC) decision to keep Canadian athletes from attending the 2020 Summer Olympics if the Games aren’t pushed back amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Games are set to begin in Tokyo, Japan, on July 24, with the Paralympics slated to follow on Aug. 25. The COC announced Sunday it wouldn’t send a team unless the Games were postponed until the summer of 2021, a move that was praised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and quickly followed by the Australian Olympic Committee.
“It’s definitely the best decision for society as a whole, and the seriousness of this is something you really have to consider and take seriously, especially among the older population,” MacNeil told Craig Needles of Global News Radio 980 CFPL on Monday.
The 20-year-old MacNeil was expected to be among those travelling to Tokyo as part of Team Canada and was considered a medal favourite. MacNeil won a gold medal in the 100-metre butterfly at the world championships last summer in South Korea, dethroning Olympic champion Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden. With countless cancellations, however, only 57 per cent of Olympic qualification spots have been determined.
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The decision of whether to postpone the Games lies with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). MacNeil said she hopes some other large countries follow Canada and Australia’s lead in pulling their athletes and calling for the Games to be delayed, forcing the IOC’s hand.
“I honestly think the best way to go forward is to postpone at least a year,” she said. “Hopefully there’ll be vaccines or it will just have died down a lot. … I think the Olympics will be something we really need after what we’ve gone through this year.”
“It actually would work out quite well, having it in Japan next summer. That’s where the world championships are supposed to be anyway,” McNeil said, referring to the 2021 FINA World Aquatics Championships. The event is set to take place from July 16 until Aug. 1 in Fukuoka, Japan.
“It would hurt if they go along, but honestly I don’t think they will at this point,” MacNeil said of the unlikely possibility the Games could go ahead as planned. “It’s really nice to have a definitive answer on Canada’s part because the last week and a half since I’ve been home it’s just been uncertainty after uncertainty.”
Veteran International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound of Montreal believes the 2020 Tokyo Games will be pushed back, telling the Canadian Press in a telephone interview: “You’re looking at a postponement. I think that’s out there now.”
“We’re all reading the tea leaves and so on, but the Japanese themselves are talking about postponing,” he said. “A lot of National Olympic Committees and countries are calling for a postponement.”
The IOC and Japan’s organizing committee had consistently said the Games would go ahead as planned. But Abe changed his tune Sunday, saying a postponement of the Tokyo Games would be unavoidable if the Games cannot be held in a complete way because of the coronavirus.
Thomas Bach, the organization’s president, said Sunday morning they were considering options including postponement and said a decision would be made within four weeks. Cancelling the Games entirely was not being considered, he said.
In an interview with the Canadian Press, David Shoemaker, COC’s CEO, said waiting that long for a decision would force athletes to continue to train amid the pandemic. The move to pull athletes from the Games came after conference calls Sunday among Canada’s major Olympic players.
Shoemaker said the turning point in discussions on how to proceed came when the federal government put an emphasis on the importance of flattening the curve and social distancing.
The question, Shoemaker said, wasn’t so much whether they could send athletes, coaches, mission team members, and fans to Tokyo to compete safely in July.
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“The question was whether it was fair and appropriate to ask our athletes to be training for those Olympics in July today here in Canada, and put themselves, their families and their communities at risk,” he said.
“The answer to that question was no.”
0:48 Coronavirus outbreak: Canada won’t send team to Olympics unless it’s postponed 1 year
Coronavirus outbreak: Canada won’t send team to Olympics unless it’s postponed 1 year
As of Monday, there have been more than 1,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada, with 112 recoveries and 25 deaths. Globally, the number of confirmed cases stands at more than 372,000 as of Monday afternoon, with more than 16,000 deaths. Nearly 100,000 people have recovered.
Both governing bodies for track and field and swimming in the United States have called on their Olympic officials to push for a postponement. National Olympic committees in Brazil, Slovenia and Norway are among those pushing for a postponement until the global health crisis subsides.
Since the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896, only World Wars have cancelled Games in 1916, 1940 and 1944.
There have been three major boycotts, in 1976 in Montreal, 1980 and 1984.
— With files from Lori Ewing and Donna Spencer of The Canadian Press
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
