Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday that the summer Olympics, set for Tokyo, will be postponed after reaching an agreement with the International Olympic Committee.
The event will now take place in the summer of 2021 at the earliest, according to reports.
The growing coronavirus pandemic, which has taken over the world, put a wrench in plans for the 2020 Olympics, both for athletes now quarantined at home and for the construction in Tokyo, a massive undertaking.
With the IOC refusing to act, countries had begun taking action themselves as Canada announced Sunday that it was withdrawing from the Games.
Late Monday, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee also called on the IOC to postpone, citing response from athletes.
"Our most important conclusion from this broad athlete response is that even if the current significant health concerns could be alleviated by late summer, the enormous disruptions to the training environment, doping controls and qualification process can't be overcome in a satisfactory manner," USOPC board chair Susanne Lyons and CEO Sarah Hirshlan said in a statement.
Abe said Tuesday that IOC President Thomas Bach "agreed 100 percent" to a one-year delay on the Olympics.
