Every couple of years, the world puts aside its issues for two weeks to play games.
Thousands of athletes and fans, from Australia to Zimbabwe, gather for a spectacle viewed by millions of people across the globe.
Those games also inspire in a political sense, acting as a sign of hope for a more unified human race; showing us that we’re not so different despite the miles that separate us.
Monday morning, Veteran International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound told USA TODAY that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games were going to be postponed, likely to 2021, with the details to be worked out over the next four weeks due to COVID-19.
A day later, IOC President Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed Pound’s prediction, announcing the postponement of the games.
While the postponement of the Olympics is Goliath-sized, it was an easy decision that everyone — from Indiana to Japan — can learn from.
The risk-reward is too great for an event of such magnitude to take place.
The 2020 Olympics were scheduled for opening ceremonies on July 24. At this time, we don’t even know which athletes will represent the stars and stripes, as many athletes haven’t even finished qualifying yet. In the USA, the 2020 Olympic Trials for track and field were set for June 19-28 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon: 85 days from today.
While some officials believe quarantines will be lifted by then, and given that China has lifted its quarantine, the timing of postponing the games was right.
It’s not a simple flipping of a switch to open up the games, as it takes days, weeks, months, and years to adequately prepare for them.
The games have never been postponed, but they’ve been cancelled twice during wartime. The 1916 games were cancelled because of World War I and the 1940 and 1944 Summer and Winter games were cancelled because of World War II.
Postponing the Olympics signals the severity and uncertainty of the pandemic. Japan has prepared for the Olympics since earning the bid in 2013, dumping millions of dollars into its projects for preparation..
Moving the dates shows that health is more important than wealth.
Earlier this week, local and state officials put more restrictions on our everyday lives as they limited our ability to travel, work and shop. There are restrictions in place for a reason, and with cooperation our communities can help stop the spread of a deadly disease.
The Olympic rings won’t be broken, and neither will we.
