With sporting events being canceled all over the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fate of this year’s Olympic Games, set to take place in Tokyo, Japan, has been hanging in the balance. Now, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japan have agreed to postpone the Games for one year.
The decision comes in the wake of Canada declaring that its athletes wouldn’t be participating in the Games. Australia’s committee also told its members that they wouldn’t be able to train for the event due to the restrictions the country has placed on gatherings to restrict the spread of the virus. According to the New York Times, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee also pressured the IOC to postpone the Olympics.
The postponement doesn’t come as a surprise given the drastic measures that virtually every major sports organization has taken during the pandemic, either voluntarily or by mandate from the government. Multiple combat sports are featured in the Summer Olympics, including karate, judo, freestyle wrestling, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
