The president of the Spanish Olympic Committee believes it would be unfair on his country’s athletes if this summer’s Tokyo Games are allowed to go ahead as planned.
Alejandro Blanco called for the Games to be pushed back from their scheduled July/August slot in order to stop athletes being forced to compete in “unequal conditions” because of disrupted preparations.
On Tuesday, the IOC said there was no need to take “drastic decisions” over the Games at this stage, but calls to give athletes more clarity over the situation are growing as qualifying events and domestic competitions are suspended.
The official advice is to prepare as normal, but many are finding it impossible, with facilities closed and cities in lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Spain is one of the European countries worst affected, and Blanco said: "The decision is for the International Olympic Committee [to make] after getting reports from the World Health Organization and the Organising Committee.
"The news that we get every day is uncomfortable for all countries in the world, but for us the most important thing is that our sportspeople cannot train and to celebrate the Games [as planned] would result in unequal conditions.
"We want the Olympics to take place, but with security.
"We're an important country in the world and four months before the Games, our athletes can't arrive in equal conditions."
