A senior International Olympic Committee member has admitted that organisers of 2021’s Tokyo Games face ‘real problems’ as the coronavirus (COVID-19) infections continue to climb. Australia’s Olympic chief and head of the IOC’s inspectorate for Tokyo, John Coates, says the games cannot be postponed again.
The Tokyo Olympics were supposed to get under way in July 2020, but was moved to 2021 due to COVID-19.
Coates says athletes from 206 different nations are expected to congregate in Tokyo for the games and that this issue has become very problematic in light of the current COVID-19 situation.
He added that organisers had to assume there would be no vaccine or none in sufficient quantity, in time for the games.
In March, the IOC and Japanese government took the unprecedented decision to delay the games due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Below is a discussion on this unprecedented decision:
Formula One
Meanwhile, Formula One’s ten teams have reportedly agreed cost-cutting measures, including a budget cap of R2.5 billion for 2021. This, however, does not include driver salaries.
The measures have yet to be approved officially by the governing FIA’s World Motor Sport Council, but it is apparently seen as a formality.
The Formula One season has yet to start, with the first 10 races postponed or cancelled due to the pandemic.
Tennis
Tennis’ second Grand Slam of the year 2020, the French Open, should have started in Paris this weekend. But instead, Roland Garros remains closed to the public as France continues to fight COVID-19.
Wimbledon in London has already been cancelled while there is doubt about the staging of the US Open in New York.
Roland Garros has been moved to September and October, and is scheduled to start a week after the conclusion of the US Open at Flushing Meadows.
Still on tennis, Japan’s Naomi Osaka has surpassed American, Serena Williams as the world’s highest-paid female athlete. Business magazine, Forbes says Osaka has raked in around R650 million in prize money and endorsements over 2019.
This is the most ever earned by a female athlete in a 12-month period. She earned around R25 million more than Williams, who had topped the list for the last four years.
22-year-old Japanese tennis player, Naomi Osaka, racked up $37 million in earnings in the past year—more than any other female athlete in history https://t.co/dPyVyZLqvO by @kbadenhausen pic.twitter.com/m6zuyzqhSX
— Forbes (@Forbes) May 22, 2020
