Tokyo 2020<\/strong> will take place from 23 July to 8 August 2021, the International Olympic Committee<\/strong> have announced.<\/p>\n

The Olympic Games were scheduled to start on 24 July 2020 but the relentless march of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic meant they were postponed last week for the first time in their history.<\/p>\n

The IOC said they would take place no later than summer 2021 and there had been some talk of a spring Games but confirmation came on Monday with the dates of the Paralympic Games<\/strong> also announced as running from 24 August until 5 September 2021.<\/p>\n

It does though beg the question of when the World Championships, due to take place in Fukuoka<\/strong>, Japan from 16 July to 1 August 2021, will go ahead with reports in Australia claiming they will run from mid-August 2021 although no official decision is expected until next month.<\/p>\n

Governing body FINA<\/strong> released a statement – posted at the bottom of this article – saying they were working with the Fukuoka organisers on a revision of those dates.<\/p>\n

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Photo Courtesy: Guy Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports<\/p><\/div>\n
The confirmation came following a teleconference on Monday involving IOC President Thomas Bach<\/strong>, Tokyo 2020 President Mori Yoshir\u014d<\/strong>, Tokyo governor Koike Yuriko<\/strong> and Olympic and Paralympic Minister Hashimoto Seiko.<\/strong><\/p>\n
The IOC said the decision was taken with three main considerations being taken into account:<\/p>\n
“To protect the health of the athletes and everyone involved and to support the containment of the COVID-19 virus.<\/p>\n
“To safeguard the interests of the athletes and of Olympic sport.<\/p>\n
“The global international sports calendar.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The IOC also noted that a July 23 start to the Games would give the health authorities as much time as possible to deal with the coronavirus and its ensuing chaos across the world.<\/p>\n
“Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n
$\"kosukekitajimalandscape\"$ <\/p>\n
Pertinent given the observations of Kosuke Kitajima<\/strong>, the four-time Olympic champion and Tokyo resident, last week when he told Swimming World:<\/p>\n
“I am still a little bit sceptical as to whether people in Tokyo really understand about this virus \u2013 especially in the light of globally what is happening overseas and the trend there. I understand when people say it\u2019s not time right now for sport.<\/p>\n
“Because it is something we ourselves are not familiar with, we don\u2019t know people who have contracted the virus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt still feels like something far off to us. In other words, we are not feeling the real urgency or the desperation ahead.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There was also confirmation that athletes that had already qualified for Tokyo 2020 will retain their spots while quota places will be unaffected as Tokyo will remain the\u00a0Games of the XXXII Olympiad.<\/p>\n
IOC President Bach concluded his statement by saying:<\/p>\n
“Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Katinka Hosszu<\/strong>, who won three gold medals among a four-strong haul in Rio de Janeiro<\/strong> in 2016, posted on social media, saying:<\/p>\n
“New dates for Tokyo Olympics, 2021 July 23- aug 8. We are lucky as athletes in this unlucky situation that we can plan in our head and we got a full year to prepare!
\n#olympics<\/a>\u00a0 #tokyo2021NE<\/a>\u00a0 #tokyo”<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A post shared by Katinka Hosszu (@hosszukatinka)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n