IT’S pretty amazing to think in real terms how small the world is now, and this has been brought into clear focus with the spread of the coronavirus.
I find it pretty difficult to comprehend the scale of the infection and how swiftly it is moving from area to area and now country to country, but there is no doubt that this invisible threat is becoming very real to many people.
One of the main concerns for the sporting world is this year’s Olympic Games which are due to kick off on July 24 in Tokyo, and there are rumblings at the moment regarding the possible cancellation of the games. When you think of the scale of this event, with athletes, coaches, supporters etc. coming from every corner of the world, the cancellation in itself would be a major event. Should it happen, it wouldn’t be the first time the Olympic Games were forced to cancel, but previous times, as far as I am aware, were war-related.
There are some overtures about moving the games, and it was reported recently that London has shown an interest. Of course, it may be that no country will be able to say they are virus-free and guarantee a safe event for all concerned. The need to screen everyone attending the event, identify those at risk of carrying the virus and quarantining them sounds like an impossible task for even the most organised country to deal with. Timing of this decision is going to be paramount – whilst we all want to see the games go ahead, I am sure we recognise that should this situation not be under control in the near future, contingency plans must be put into action.
No matter what you think of this, whether we are being over-cautious or not, it must pray on the minds of athletes who are currently preparing for the highlight of their career, representing their country on the world stage. The sooner decision is made, the better.
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