The 2020 Olympics due to be held this summer will be postponed, according to International Olympics Committee member Dick Pound.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, that has brought the sporting world to a grinding halt, the IOC have come under increasing pressure to put the Games on ice.
The Olympics are currently scheduled to take place in Tokyo between July 24 and August 9.
But the current restrictions being imposed around the world due to Covid-19 have made it extremely difficult for athletes to continue to prepare effectively.
Pound, one of the more prominent voices within the IOC, says the games will be pushed.
“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” he told USA Today.
“The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.
“It will come in stages. We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense.”
If the Games are postponed, they are unlikely to take place until 2021.
Pound's quotes come just 24 hours after IOC President Thomas Bach insisted he would take the next four weeks to decide the fate of the games, an announcement that left athletes across the globe in limbo and incredulous.
However, on Monday, Japan prime minister Shinzo Abe entertained postponing the Tokyo Olympics for the first time.
"In light of considering athletes first, it may become inevitable that we make a decision to postpone," he said.
Canada and Australia have recently announced they will not be sending athletes to the Games if they are staged this year.
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