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THERE WAS FURTHER controversy this week around the planned Olympic Games in Tokyo, after its chief organiser faced pressure to resign over sexist comments.
There have been conflicting reports in recent weeks as to whether the Olympics – which were postponed last year – will go ahead this year as the pandemic still rages across the world.
London 2012 chief Sir Keith Mills last month said if he was in the shoes of the Tokyo organisers, he’d be making cancellation plans. Organisers, however, have insisted there’s no truth to reports the event will be cancelled.
A recent poll found 80% of people in Japan want the games cancelled or postponed, as several parts of the country remain under a virus state of emergency.
So, what do you think: Should the Olympics be postponed again?
People have lost a lot of interest in the Olympics as we can’t know who is clean anymore.
@Justin Gillespie: give them all drugs. Even up the field!!!
It’s a pity because outstanding performances, like those in the past, are now going to be scrutinised and doubted, with more and more medals handed back in years to come.
@Peter Roche: 100% I want to see the 110m Hurdles doing in 4 seconds flat, the javelin thrown out of the stadium and the 50km walk in 10minutes.
@Ian Breathnach: And air traffic control clearance for the hammer throwing and swimmers to be able to reach the other end of the pool in one dive
@Thomas O’ Donnell: pole vaulters having to make their way into the stadium by vaulting from outside over the stands.
@Peter Roche: that’s not how it works. because drugs affect people differently giving everyone drugs doesnt even up the field . nice theory though
@Justin Gillespie: ‘People’ and ‘We’ eh?
Well the 6 nations is on! The Australian Open is on, the golf is on, the footy is on……
So why not??? Just no spectators that’s it! Play the games
@Jonnie Marre: I dunno. There’s more to it with an event like the Olympics. Having an athletics background is love to see it. But it takes a lot more staff and volunteers etc for a big multi discipline event like this to take place in comparison to a football match. Don’t think fans are the only concern here. It would be very difficult to make it a safe environment and also make it run efficiently. Not too mention competitors and their background teams mixing from so many countries. Golf is probably in the middle of these two.
@Jonnie Marre: I think they should go ahead, behind closed doors. I think the Japanese are more worried about financial losses that spectators could bring in
@Jonnie Marre: exactly. A 100 million viewers can’t be wrong.
@Jonnie Marre: Well neither of those competitions have thousands of people from every country in the world and thrown into a village together, multiple people to rooms etc…
Lot easier to control the six nations or a number of individuals, look at the issues the Australian Tennis Open and the problems they had
The readers of the journal have spoken. Let the IOC know our views:)
@Michael Kelleher: haha love that comment.
On a side note, just let it go ahead, world will be a different place by then. PLUS, we need to learn to live with this, events need to go ahead…
Give us something to look forward to for god’s sake.
@The Firestarter: What a childish attitude
@The Firestarter: Id rather paint skirting boards.
@Fred the Muss…: good man. I’m looking for a painter for ages to paint a few rooms. Send on your details
I think a big issue is the cost — people here are forgetting how expensive the Olympics are. Cities agree to host it because it brings in tourism, and even if it doesn’t recoup its cost during the Olympics, they hope it works as a advertisement for future visitors. Having no spectators makes it just a dead loss.
They can’t push it to 2022, because of the Winter Olympics, and 2023 would be right before the next one. If anything they should push all the hosts of the summer Olympics forward by 4 years and move Tokyo to 2024.
But I can’t really see the other cities agreeing to it, but if they were to, the IOC would need to decide it soon, before they get too far ahead with their branding (trivial or not, this will be a sticking point for the other cities)
No need.
Don’t see the point – almost all sport has gone ahead
If there’s no fans so be it
If the Premiership can continue why not the Olympics. Our great Athletes need something to aim for and what’s greater than an Olympic medal
cancel it.. too much cheating anyway
It’s a no brainer, of course they should postpone it. I think it will be at least two more years before most of the global population is fully vaccinated.
They should take the opportunity to take the games back to their core values.
Modern Olympics cost in the region of $16 billion to run which is just daft.
It’s supposed to be about sport and not increasingly glitzy opening and closing ceremonies and completely rebuilding a city’s infrastructure which often ends up being an anchor around a country’s neck for decades.
A reboot is long overdue.
Load up the javelin with the vaccine and lob it into the crowd
The world athletics championships and the world swimming championships are both due to take place in 2022. Can you really have both Olympics and worlds championships within months of eachother?
An Irish athlete gave an intervier recently (can’t remember his name). He was for the Olympics going ahead, he explained the TV rights revenue was distributed among National Athletics Associations. The money was vital for the needs of individual athletes training needs.
Vaccinate all competitors and officials. Some of them will be use to an auld jab so they won’t mind
I think a 2 year gap between 2 Olympics would make the whole thing a bit silly. Best to get the 2020 Olympics done now, however imperfectly. The second best option might be not to have these ones at all, and to just go for 2024.
@Dick Barrett: I agree, this year or wait till 2024.
Is that what Ronan McCarthy and the lads were training for down in Youghal ?
Most of the sports are so boring anyway (sailing?). They should just hold the track and field and forget about the rest (apart from
skateboarding of course)
@Virgil: You can’t forget about the rest, it’s the only time I can pontificate about rhythmic gymnastics as if I’m some sort of expert :-)
Cancel them for goodness sake.
We had here issues with the GAA players and transmission. Why should it be better with a large scale international event?
I find all those sports event at the moment insane.
I also don’t see a reason to vaccinate sportler first. We are all in the same boat with this. Get the healthcare workers and the vulnerable vaccinated first. If that’s done then you can even gave them attending if they wish.
Last year I 100% agreed with it being pushed back. Now I want to see the various sports. Plus apparently they all go at it behind the scenes like rabbits. New Love Island?
It can be organised safely, let the athletes at it, duly vaccinated, without crowds, and free to air screening.
@William Kelly: What if they catch it anyway? The vaccine only means that 95% won’t die of it. They’ll hardly be in peak form though if they make the journey.
I presume because of Covid19 there is no drug testing going on so the Olympics are pointless this year.
have your say