Bach rejects allegations that IOC was hesitant about postponing Games

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has rejected claims that the IOC was too hesitant in its decision-making to postpone the 2020 Summer Games due to the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: EPA

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has rejected claims that the IOC was too hesitant in its decision-making to postpone the 2020 Summer Games due to the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: EPA

Published Apr 12, 2020

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BERLIN - International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach

has rejected claims that the IOC was too hesitant in its

decision-making to postpone the 2020 Summer Games due to the

coronavirus pandemic.

Bach told the German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag that he could

understand why some people felt this way.

"But as someone who is responsible, you cannot make decisions based

on gut instinct," Bach asserted. He said the "long-term survival of

the Olympic Games and the cultural heritage of the Olympic Games"

were at stake.

The only short-term decision that might have been possible was to

cancel the games outright, the 66-year-old added. However, none of

the athletes' representatives from around the world supported such a

step in joint telephone conferences, Bach added.

On March 24, the IOC announced that the Olympics would be cancelled

this summer due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus. A little

later it was decided to postpone the games by almost exactly one

year.

Completely cancelling the Games was never an option, Bach insisted.

"In order to counter conspiracy theories, it must be said clearly

that the IOC was insured against a cancellation, but not insured in

the case of a postponement," the former fencer told the paper.

"For a postponement, however, the approval of the organizing

committee, which must be willing to work a year longer, is required,

and the Japanese government must be willing to continue to support

the preparations," Bach added.

dpa

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coronavirus