On Sunday evening, the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee issued joint statements saying that they would not be sending their teams to the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo unless they are pushed back a year. The decision was made in response to COVID-19 concerns. We spoke to former Olympian and professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education Bruce Kidd about what this decision will mean both for Team Canada and the Games.
What do you think about Canada’s decision not to send athletes to the 2020 summer Olympic Games in Tokyo unless they are postponed by a year?
It’s very sad, but I fully support this decision. It focuses the entire Canadian Olympic/Paralympic sport communities on fighting the virus and keeping people safe and healthy. It relieves athletes and coaches of the tremendous stress of preparing for possible 2020 Games without adequate facilities and services, all of which have been closed down to enforce social distancing and combat the virus. There has also been a worry that with drug testing suspended during the crisis, some athletes will resort to doping and gain an unfair advantage.
What impact will Canada’s decision have on the International Olympic Committee, which announced earlier on Sunday that they had set a deadline of four weeks to determine the fate of the Games, including postponing them?
It makes sense for the IOC to give itself a little more time to assess the ever-changing situation and consult widely. We hope that it’s listening very carefully to the World Health Organization. But it’s important that National Olympic Committees, National Paralympic Committees and athletes be heard too. I hope the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee’s statement will encourage others to weigh in.
While it will be very important for the Olympics and Paralympics to bring the world together again as soon as the crisis is over, I hope IOC and the International Paralympic Committee will not go ahead until every one of the 206 national communities involved is no longer at risk and able to field teams.
How do you expect the Canadian athletes to respond to this decision?
Most Canadian athletes will be relieved but not all. Some will fear that they won’t be as competitive in another year, and resent that they have to put their lives on hold. But from what I’ve heard in the last few days, most recognize the enormity of the crisis and that life is not likely to return to normal any time soon. Most recognize that sport is inextricably intertwined with other social practices and cannot expect special treatment.
National Olympic committees in Brazil, Slovenia and Norway have also been pushing for a postponement of the Games until the global health crisis subsides. Do you expect more countries to follow in their footsteps or do what Canada has done?
It’s hard to tell because the virus has affected different countries in different ways. Not all NOCs will feel comfortable sharing their advice to the IOC in such a public way. But I have no doubt that the IOC is getting an earful right now. As it should. This is an extremely important and urgent decision, and should be made with input from the entire world.
What should the postponed Games look like?
Sport brings people together, and no events do it better than the Olympics and Paralympics. Once the crisis is over, the world will need something to re-establish the spirit of international, intercultural openness and full respect for human rights that has been a casualty of the border closings necessitated by the pandemic. That should be the focus of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The IOC and IPC should use their Games, in conjunction with the UN and others to combat the xenophobia of recent years, and link the spirit of sports to broad social development and world health.