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The Olympic Games scheduled to begin on July 24 in Tokyo have been officially postponed. Just two days after the International Olympic Committee had set a four-week deadline to make a final decision, the decision has been made to move the world’s largest sporting event to 2021.
A new date for the Games has not been determined with the IOC statement simply reading “beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021.” As the world waits for the COVID-19 pandemic to subside, the sporting world also now waits for the new dates for the Olympics.
Certain to be affected is the World Sevens Series. Already four events – the Asian leg of Hong Kong and Singapore, and the European leg of Paris and London – have been postponed tentatively to the fall of 2020, to be held prior to the start of the 2020-2021 season. Should the new Olympic dates clash with the new series it would create further disruptions.
Athletes from Canada and Australia will be somewhat relieved with the confirmation of postponement after both nations indicated they would not send a delegation to the event in July. While for some an extra year may be one too far, the opportunity to compete in 2021 is infinitely preferable to none at all.
