USA Track and Field (USATF) calls for the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

The US Track and Field (USATF) has appealed for the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics following the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic that has grown in the last few days globally.

USATF on Saturday posted a letter on their twitter handle penned down by it’s CEO Max Siegel, as he urged the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) to take the request to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for postponing the Summer Olympic scheduled to start from July 24. 

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— USATF (@usatf) March 21, 2020

In his letter, Max Siegel said, “Our goal remains to achieve athletic excellence during the Olympic Games, but not at the expense of the safety and well-being of our athletes,” said Siegel in the letter. “The alternative of moving forward in light of the current global situation would not be in the best interest of our athletes (as difficult as that decision might be),”

“We urge the USOPC, as a leader within the Olympic Movement, to use its voice and speak up for the athletes,” he concluded. 

After the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the USA Swimming was the first to voice their concerns over conducting the event and asked for postponing of the event as a measure to stop the spreading of the virus. Earlier last week, the IOC had released a statement stating that they are “fully committed” for conducting the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and also appealed that there is no need to panic and taking drastic decisions, especially at this stage. 

“The IOC remains fully committed to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and with more than four months to go before the Games there is no need for any drastic decisions at this stage, and any speculation at this moment would be counter-productive,” IOC had said in a statement.

The US had won 33 medals in the swimming event with over 176 competed in either swimming or track and field competitions.