The Australian Olympic Committee on Monday refuted solutions it had colluded with Canadian counterparts to withdraw from the Tokyo Games to stress organizers right into a postponement.
Both international locations mentioned final week, in statements launched in fast succession, that they might not ship groups to the Olympics in July due to the Corona Virus pandemic.
A day later, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) postponed the Games till 2021.
The chain of occasions led to media hypothesis that the international locations’ Olympic committees had been in cahoots to stress organizers to name off the Games, or had acted in live performance with the IOC to give the worldwide physique leverage to postpone Tokyo.
“Any assertions {that a} determination by the AOC (Australian Olympic Committee) to inform its athletes to plan for a Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 was achieved in live performance with both the IOC or the Canadian Olympic Committee are utterly incorrect,” the AOC mentioned in a press release.
The determination, it added, adopted a sequence of occasions together with restrictions on worldwide journey by the Australian authorities, quarantine necessities at borders and closure of coaching amenities.
It had additionally famous a call by the IOC final Monday to think about situation planning for the 2020 Games, together with a attainable postponement.
“The impact of those measures as outlined, knowledgeable the chief’s conclusion that an Australian Olympic workforce couldn’t depart our shores for a Games at any time throughout the subsequent six months, at the very least,” the AOC added.
AOC chief government Matt Carroll mentioned final week athletes wanted certainty on what was taking place, they usually should additionally prioritize their well being within the new Corona Virus world.
