2020 Olympics Will Be Postponed Says IOC Member

2020 Olympics Will Be Postponed Says IOC Member

IOC member Dick Pound says that he "knows" that the 2020 Olympics will be postponed.

Mar 23, 2020 by Andrew Spey
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IOC member Dick Pound says that he "knows" that the 2020 Olympics will be postponed. 

Veteran International Olympic Committee member Pound told USA Today that the 2020 Games will not be held as scheduled, and that they will likely be postponed until 2021 with the details being worked out over the next four weeks.

Said Pound:

On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided. The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.

The postponement immediately raises an avalanche of questions for the wrestling community. The qualification process will have to be adjusted. So far, 144 Olympic spots have been secured via the 2019 World Championships and 2020 Pan Am Olympic Qualifier; 144 still have to be decided at the remaining continental qualifiers and the Last Chance Olympic Qualifier, however, all four of those tournaments are currently postponed indefinitely.

It also remains to be determined if there will be a 2020 World Championships, assuming the Tokyo Games are postponed until 2021 or beyond.

Collegiate wrestlers who have taken or plan to take an Olympic redshirt are likewise stuck in limbo at the moment.

IOC President Thomas Bach made an announcement on Sunday that the fate of the Olympics will be decided over the next four weeks. Bach ruled out the cancellation of the Olympics, however, Dick Pound now appears to confirm that postponement is part of those plans.