COC and CPC thank IOC for its Decision to Postpone Games to 2021
TORONTO/OTTAWA (March 24, 2020) – The Canadian Olympic
Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) issued the
following statement on Tuesday in reaction to the conclusion made by
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President,
Thomas Bach, and Japanese Prime Minister, Abe Shinzo, that the Olympic
and Paralympic Games in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020:
The COC and CPC would like to thank President Thomas Bach, Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe and the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee for this
decision which continues to show their commitment to safeguarding the
health and safety of athletes and the world community.
We also renew our commitment to work with the IOC, International
Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee and
offer them our full support in helping navigate all the complexities
that rescheduling the Games will bring.
With this postponement, the IOC has given Tokyo hopefuls worldwide the
clarity they need about the immediate future, so we can all concentrate
on our collective health and wellbeing and take all necessary steps to
mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
We are confident that when the time comes, the IOC and the Tokyo 2020
organizing committee will deliver a world-class Games that celebrates
the Olympic and Paralympic values and unites and inspires the world. The
Olympic and Paralympic Games have long been
a symbol of hope and Tokyo 2020 will be a celebration of all that we
now seek to overcome. There may be no better way to move on from this
most difficult time than seeing the world brought together through sport
the way only a Games can.
We are incredibly proud of the leadership and resilience that our
athletes, National Sport Organizations, partners and the Canadian sport
community have demonstrated in these unprecedented times. While
postponement comes with its own set of challenges, Team
Canada will rise to the challenge to showcase our very best on the
international stage.
-30-
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Nicole Watts, Manager, Public Relations
Canadian Paralympic Committee
C: 613-462-2700
E:
nwatts@paralympic.ca
Martin Richard, Executive Director, Communications and Brand
Canadian Paralympic Committee
C: 613-725-4339
E:
mrichard@paralympic.ca
Josh Su, Specialist, Public Relations
Canadian Olympic Committee
C: 647-464-4060
E:
jsu@olympic.ca
Photi Sotiropoulos, Director, Communications and Media Relations
Canadian Olympic Committee
C: 416-476-9174
E:
psotiropoulos@olympic.ca