IOC president Bach: Too early to decide fate of Tokyo 2020
CGTN
IOC president Thomas Bach speaks at a conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, March 3, 2020. /VCG

IOC president Thomas Bach speaks at a conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, March 3, 2020. /VCG

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach stressed it's too early to decide the fate of 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in a teleconference with representatives of athletes on Wednesday, according to former Olympic champion Yang Yang.

About 200 representatives from the international federations, athletes and Athletes Commissions of related Olympic organizing committees attended the two-hour teleconference with IOC members of relevant departments. Yang joined as chair of the Athletes Commissions of Beijing 2022.

According to Yang, Bach said he understood that speculation over postponing or even cancelling Tokyo 2020 has interrupted the athletes' preparation for the Games.

Former speed skater Yang Yang of China speaks as vice president of the WADA executive committee at the World Conference of Doing in Sport in Katowice, Poland, November 7, 2019. /VCG

Former speed skater Yang Yang of China speaks as vice president of the WADA executive committee at the World Conference of Doing in Sport in Katowice, Poland, November 7, 2019. /VCG

The president went on to explain that the IOC will not insist on holding the Games out of economic concerns, which could be dealt by IOC's risk management and insurance.

Right now, the organization is keeping close cooperation with relevant authorities including the World Health Organization to evaluate if the situation is suitable for hosting the Games.

IOC's insistence on holding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as planned has been met with fierce pushback from its own members.

Olympic chiefs acknowledged there was no "ideal" solution to staging the Tokyo Olympics in response to a growing number of athletes expressing concern as the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe.

Bach admitted he was "confronted with many questions" over qualification and restrictions.

But he also insisted that "everybody realized that we still have more than four months to go" until Tokyo 2020.

A "TOKYO 2020" special aircraft is set to depart for Athens to carry the Olympic Flame back to Japan, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, March 18, 2020. /VCG

A "TOKYO 2020" special aircraft is set to depart for Athens to carry the Olympic Flame back to Japan, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, March 18, 2020. /VCG

The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee is committed to hosting the Games as scheduled, which they believe will bring hope to people in difficult times, Bach told the athletes.

Bach explained changes made in the Olympic quota allocation due to cancellation of qualifying tournament to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and responded to some athletes' concerns that they did not receive enough support from their national Olympic committee during this special time.

Bach said: "We have just had a really great call with 220 athlete representatives from all around the world, it was very constructive and gave us a lot of insight.

"We aimed to continue being very realistic in our analysis. We will keep acting in a responsible way that is in the interest of the athletes whilst always respecting our two principles - the safeguarding and health of the athletes and contributing to the containment of the virus, and secondly to protect the interest of the athletes and Olympic sport."

Olympic rings at Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo, Japan, March 18, 2020. /VCG

Olympic rings at Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo, Japan, March 18, 2020. /VCG

The IOC noted that more frequent anti-doping tests will be carried out to keep the Olympics clean in case some athletes take advantage of the closing of anti-doping labs in some countries and regions due to the pandemic, which was also the concern raised by representatives on the teleconference.

As newly-elected vice president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Yang also emphasized that the WADA will support Tokyo 2020 in cracking down on doping.

Bach reiterated that it's too early to decide the fate of Tokyo 2020 at the end of the teleconference, according to Yang.

The IOC has been having teleconference with shareholders including international federations, representative athletes and national Olympic committees since March 17.

(With input from agencies)

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