The worse and worse the outbreak of coronavirus became, the more and more likely it would be that said Olympics would either be canceled or postponed to a later date.
With only a few months to go prior to the planned start of the Olympics and the Covid-19 pandemic only getting worse and worse, the International Olympic Committee was left with little other choice but to move Tokyo’s Games to 2021.
In large part, the IOC’s hand was forced when Canada’s and Australia’s Olympic committees declared they would not send their athletes to Tokyo. USA Swimming then announced something similar.
With the uncertainty regarding the virus, the call was unquestionably the correct one. But it was a call that the IOC itself seemed unwilling to make until individual countries’ Olympic committees practically made Lausanne’s decision for it.
In a basketball sense, it is ironic that the three countries that played the biggest role in the Olympics being moved to 2021 were Canada, Australia and the United States – three countries that field some of the best basketball teams and players in the world.
Stay safe & keep pushing forward. We will come together to defend our golds in 2021. pic.twitter.com/mLzQPnvSgm
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) March 24, 2020
The wait will be worth it. pic.twitter.com/Fe2X8Lufoy
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) March 26, 2020
With the Olympics now moved to 2021, this means the USA Women’s Basketball team will be facing new questions – particularly surrounding two of its older players in Sue Bird in Diana Taurasi.
Bird spoke with ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel and she says the one-year delay changes nothing as far as their status.
…the reality is, I don’t actually think it changes much. Because we have found a way to stay on top of our game.
–Sue Bird (ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel)
The plan was to be in my peak-performing shape come WNBA training camp. I felt like I was on that trajectory and going the right way. For the most part I felt great. This does throw a little bit of a wrench in that.
–Sue Bird (ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel)
At the very least, all of the teams that advanced out of the FIBA tournament will be grandfathered into the Olympics next year, so nothing changes as far as which teams shall participate in the Tokyo Games.
The Olympics were also looked at by Australia’s Liz Cambage as a possible cap on her career after failing to reach the medal state in Rio de Janeiro. That, of course, has now been delayed by a year, but she too also detailed her recent health concerns in an Instagram post.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-EPyMhJKTy/
