ATHENS: Olympic chiefs acknowledged on Wednesday there was no “ideal” solution to staging the Tokyo Olympics amid a backlash from athletes as the deadly coronavirus pandemic swept the globe.

“This is an exceptional situation which requires exceptional solutions,” an International Olympic Committee spokesperson said after criticism from top athletes that they were being forced to take health risks should the July 24-August 9 Games go ahead as scheduled during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“The IOC is committed to finding a solution with the least negative impact for the athletes, while protecting the integrity of the competition and the athletes’ health.

“No solution will be ideal in this situation, and this is why we are counting on the responsibility and solidarity of the athletes.”

The IOC got the backing from Panam Sports, the organisation representing 41 national Olympic Committees in the Americas.

“The Panam Sports family unanimously supports the IOC with all the measures taken ... to address the issues facing the NOCs and athletes in the current qualification opportunities,” Panam Sports President Neven Ilic said after the briefing via conference call on Wednesday.

“The athletes of the Americas are facing issues to complete their usual training schedules and take part in competitions.”

Olympic pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi and British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson had earlier both voiced concerns after the IOC said it was “fully committed” to running the Games as scheduled from July 24.

Stefanidi, one of Greece’s most prominent athletes, was scheduled to hand the ceremonial flame to Japanese officials before the Greek leg of the torch relay was scrapped over COVID-19, which has 194,000 cases with 7,873 deaths, across 150 countries and territories.

“The IOC wants us to keep risking our health, our family’s health and public health to train every day?” she tweeted. “You are putting us in danger right now, today, not in 4 months.”

On Tuesday, minutes before the IOC statement, the Euro 2020 football tournament was delayed for a year, bowing to the crisis that has paralysed Europe and drastically curtailed international travel.

Olympic qualifying tournaments are among the swathe of sports events that have been cancelled or postponed, with only 57 per cent of athletes booking their places so far. The remaining 43pc will clinch their place through modified qualifiers, or previous performances based on ranking.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Stefanidi. “What about team sports that have to train together? What about swimming? What about gymnastics that they touch the same objects? There is zero consideration of the risk they are putting us in right now.

“We all want Tokyo to happen but what is the Plan B if it does not happen? Knowing about a possible option has a major effect on my training because I may be taking risks now that I would not take if I knew there was also the possibility of a Plan B.”

French swimming federation president Gilles Sezionale expressed his disappointment at the IOC “evoking the possible continuation of the Games”.

“I am devastated by so many inconsistencies when we should today devote ourselves solely to the epidemic to save lives!”

Johnson-Thompson, the world heptathlon champion, criticised the IOC for telling athletes to train “as best they can”, saying it was at odds with stringent government health measures.

“We’re trying to follow information with how to continue safely whilst reducing the risk to everyone around us and the information of the IOC and the local government are at odds with one another,” she wrote on Twitter.

“I feel under pressure to train and keep the same routine which is impossible. It’s difficult [to] approach the season when everything has changed in the lead-up apart from the ultimate deadline,” added the Briton.

Doubts are increasingly being expressed about holding the Olympics on time, after the outbreak that first exploded in China spread to Asia and then worldwide.

IOC member Hayley Wickenheiser called the decision to proceed with the Games “insensitive and irresponsible” in the most vocal attack on the Olympic body since President Thomas Bach took over in 2013.

Wickenheiser, who competed in five Winter Games in ice hockey and at the 2000 Summer Olympics in softball, said continuing with the Games as planned ignored the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

“From an athlete perspective, I can only imagine and try to empathise with the anxiety and heartbreak athletes are feeling right now,” she said in a statement.

“The uncertainty of not knowing where you’re going to train tomorrow as facilities close and qualification events are cancelled all over the world would be terrible if you’ve been training your whole life for this.” Wickenheiser added: “I think the IOC insisting this will move ahead, with such conviction, is insensitive and irresponsible given the state of humanity.”

And the chair of the athlete council for the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee offered a window into how the uncertainty hinders the athletes.

“As long as the Games are supposed to continue as planned, I don’t think athletes want to scale back their training,” said Han Xiao. “I’d like the IOC to give a little more insight into planning and when they might expect to make a final decision, but I don’t know if that’s forthcoming.”

France’s 110m hurdler Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, European champion and world bronze medallist who finished fourth at the Rio Games in 2016, said a postponement was the only fair solution.

“We’re not all in the same boat, there are countries which are less affected than others. In some countries athletes can train normally while we can’t even access our training ground,” he said.

“We are not on an equal footing when it comes to preparation. The Games should be postponed until the end of 2020, not next year.”

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2020