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.”
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
TORSBY, Sweden (AP) — David Beckham and former England coach Roy Hodgson were among the soccer dignitaries who attended the funeral of Sven-Goran Eriksson on Friday in the Swedish manager’s small hometown of Torsby.
Eriksson’s wooden coffin was covered in white flowers and surrounded by six tall candles and other floral wreaths as the ceremony began inside the 600-seat Fryksande church.
“It is a day of grief but also a day of thankfulness,” the priest, Ingela Älvskog, told those in attendance.
Beckham, who arrived by private jet on Thursday, greeted Eriksson’s 95-year-old father Sven and other family members with hugs inside the church before the funeral started.
Eriksson became England’s first foreign-born coach when he led the national team from 2001-06, and made Beckham his captain.
Eriksson, who also won trophies at club level in Italy, Portugal and Sweden, died on Aug. 26 at the age of 76, eight months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had at most one year to live.
Some 200 seats in the neo-Gothic church from 1898 were reserved for his family, friends and players from his career in the football world, according to his agent. The remaining seats were open for the public, according to Eriksson’s wish, with a big screen set up outside the church where hundreds more gathered to watch the ceremony. The funeral was also broadcast live on some Swedish media websites.
The wooden coffin was wheeled in by pallbearers at the church Friday morning as fog wrapped Torsby — a town of about 4,000 people located about 310 kilometers (193 miles) west of Stockholm. Next to the casket was a photo of Eriksson on a small table. The floral wreaths included ones sent by FIFA and Lazio, the Italian team that Eriksson led to the Serie A title in 2000.
The ceremony began with somber piano and organ music, but later took on a more upbeat note with Swedish singer Charlotta Birgersson performing Elton John’s song “Candle In The Wind” and then “My Way” in a duet with Johan Birgersson, who later intoned the popular Italian song “Volare” after the family had gathered around the casket to lay flowers.
Beckham also visited Eriksson in Sweden in June to say goodbye. Others attending the funeral included the Swedish coach’s longtime partner Nancy Dell’Olio. Eriksson’s agent had said that guests from England, Italy and Spain were expected.
After the funeral, the casket was carried out of the church by eight men to the hearse. The guests then walked in a procession accompanying the coffin to a nearby museum where speeches and eulogies to the coach fondly known as “Svennis” were planned on an outdoor stage. A brass band played during the procession through Torsby, including the tune “You never walk alone” from the musical “Carousel” which has become the anthem of Liverpool, the club Eriksson supported since childhood.
The local soccer club Torsby IF, where Eriksson started his career in the 1960s, wrote on its webpage that “you also showed your greatness by always being yourself, the caring Svennis who talked to everyone and took the time, for big and small, asking how things were and how the football was going. We will miss you.”
