The boss of UK Athletics has called for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to be postponed due to the "intense" mental strain the uncertainty is having on athletes.
UKA chairman Nic Coward is the most influential British figure yet to rail against the idea that the Games can go ahead as scheduled in July when the coronavirus pandemic is shutting down the world.
On hearing Prime Minister Boris Johnson order gyms and leisure centres to close, he declared that the “moment had arrived” for the Games to go the same way as this summer’s school exams.
He said: “The analogy I keep coming back to is that for many students this is the year they have spent their lives gearing up for.
“But schools, like gyms and running tracks, have been closed and national governments have concluded that the right thing to do is to remove the stress of exams.
“They have recognised there’s an enormous stress point in the system, that exams place huge pressure on people, so there won’t be any. Decision made.
“For athletes and para athletes the world over it is the same scenario," Coward added. "They are people for whom this summer is the biggest moment.
“They’ve prepared either all of their sporting lives or the last four years for competition in July and August.
“So what we are saying is the moment has arrived. Right now there is a very real issue for people about how they go about their lives.
“People are having to make really big decisions under a lot of stress. So from our perspective, that pressure has to be released.”
Only yesterday the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee told its athletes they should continue to prepare for Tokyo 2020, whilst taking appropriate precautions.
But Coward, a former General Secretary of the Premier League and CEO of the British Horseracing Authority, left little doubt that UK Athletics had moved beyond that point.
“I understand there is huge complexity to decision-making at a global level,” he said. “I realise I’m only talking from a UK perspective, not the 200 plus nations the organisers have to think about.
“But the message that more and more has to come out is ‘recognise the seriously intense pressure this is applying to people’s lives’.
“No-one is in any doubt that Tokyo will host a great Olympic and Paralympic Games. But remove the stress now and then think about what next.”
