|
Canadian Pound, the longest-serving member of
the International Olympics Committee (IOC), told Sky News in the
UK that the Games could still go ahead with mass athlete
participation, but only if they were vaccinated.
"In Canada where we might have 300 or 400 athletes - to take 300
or 400 vaccines out of several million in order to have Canada
represented at an international event of this stature, character
and level - I don't think there would be any kind of a public
outcry about that," Pound told Sky News.
"It's a decision for each country to make and there will be
people saying they are jumping the queue but I think that is the
most realistic way of it going ahead."
During his visit to Tokyo in November, IOC President Thomas Bach
said athletes would be encouraged to get the vaccine but it
would not be mandatory for their participation in the Games.
Separately, Pound told the BBC the ever-changing nature of the
coronavirus pandemic meant nobody could be sure whether the
Games would go ahead in less than 200 days.
"I can't be certain because the ongoing elephant in the room
would be the surges in the virus," Pound said, according to the
BBC.
Over 15,000 athletes from almost every country in the world are
expected to descend on Tokyo for the Olympics, which start on
July 23, and the subsequent Paralympics.
Fears over whether the Games can be held in Tokyo have increased
in the last few weeks as COVID-19 cases surge in Japan and
around the world.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reiterated on Thursday
his intention to hold the Games, even as he declared a state of
emergency in the capital and surrounding prefectures
[M1L4N2JI042].
(Reporting by Jack Tarrant; Editing by Karishma Singh)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
