New Start Dates Announced for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics
The Olympic and Paralympics Games have their new dates set for almost exactly a year to the day from their original dates.
Both events were postponed on March 24 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The new dates for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games have been announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, and the Tokyo government. The Olympics are now set to run from July 23, 2021 to August 8, 2021, while the Paralympics are now scheduled for August 24, 2021 to September 5, 2021.
“Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in a press release. “These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel.”
On March 24, the IOC and the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee released a joint statement stating that the Games would be postponed until at least 2021 because of the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic. However, at that time, no exact dates had been set, as Olympic and Paralympic committees continued to deliberate with Tokyo organizers about when the Games would run.
Less than a week later, hopeful athletes (and athlete who have already qualified) have their answer, with the Olympics pushed back almost exactly a year to the day. The original dates for the Games were July 24, 2020 to August 9, 2020 and August 25, 2020 to September 6, 2020, respectively.
Though having the games moves is a big change for many athletes less than 100 days out of what many were training for, their sights now look forward to a certain future.
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“The new dates provide certainty for the athletes, reassurance for the stakeholders and something to look forward to for the whole world,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said in a press release. “When the Paralympic Games do take place in Tokyo next year, they will be an extra special display of humanity uniting as one, a global celebration of human resilience and a sensational showcase of sport.”
The postponement was the biggest sporting event to see a postponement or cancelation so far during the pandemic. Moving the dates back a year also changes the schedule of qualifying events. Tokyo 2020, which is keeping its name despite the date changes, confirmed last week that athletes who had already qualified will not have to requalify.
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