What has been talked about more and more in recent days has become a reality. XXXII. The Tokyo Summer Olympics have been postponed to next year.

imagesThe postponement of the Olympic Games in Tokyo was agreed in a telephone conversation between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach. "I proposed postponing the Olympics for about a year, and the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, clearly agreed." said Abe. "It's the best way to enable athletes to get in the best condition for the race while ensuring safety for the spectators." added the Japanese Prime Minister.

The translation of the Games will still be dealt with by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee, which must approve the proposal. "In the light of current events and based on information from the World Health Organization, the President of the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese Prime Minister have agreed that XXXII. the Summer Olympics must be postponed to next year, no later than the summer of 2021, in order to ensure the health of the athletes, all the people involved in the Games and the international community. " stated in a joint statement by the IOC management and the Games Organizing Committee. At the same time, the decision was made that the Olympic flame would remain in Japan and that the event would retain the name Tokyo 2020 Paralympic and Paralympic Games.

Until a few days ago, IOC officials and the organizers of the Games believed that the Olympics would take place on the scheduled date from July 24 to August 9 this year. Gradually, however, national Olympic committees and sports federations began to speak in order to postpone the Olympic Games for at least a few months. For example, many of the world's best athletes, led by Kevin Mayer, Katerina Stefanidiova or Piotr Malachowski, called for the same.

Yesterday, the Canadian Olympic Committee issued a statement that if the Olympic Games were held on the scheduled date at the turn of July and August, they would not send their athletes to them. The Australian Olympic Committee has again called on its representatives to prepare for the option of postponing the Olympics to 2021 and adapting their training accordingly.

Barbora Špotáková, the world record holder in javelin throwing, is also reacting to the postponement of the games "It's a difficult situation, of course, but given the current circumstances that are happening now, it's an understandable step, so I consider it the right decision, which is the most sensible thing at the moment, and I respect it." she stated.

"I am well aware that people have far more problems than I have as an athlete. I wish everyone very well to be able to do this, to find strength in themselves and to look for new opportunities that this situation offers them and not be subject to pessimism. I keep my fingers crossed that faith will not leave them. ” says the two-time Olympic winner.

The Czech record holder Jakub Holuš was caught in the course of a two-week domestic quarantine, which he ordered after returning from a training camp in the United States. "It simply came to our notice then. The pressure was so great that the IOC had to act. I don't think there was any other option and it's good for the athletes to postpone the games. We don't have to be in such stress. Of course, it's also a little overwhelming me, and I'm sad about it, because you're directing four years of effort toward a goal that is then postponed. It's a difficult time, but we all have the same thing. " Holuš let himself be heard.

Zuzana Hejnová is the last elite Czech athlete who is still staying at a foreign training camp. "It simply came to our notice then. In this situation, athletes cannot adequately prepare. It is also not pleasant to wait in constant uncertainty. Now it is important to overcome this unpleasant epidemic, to follow the measures, and when it is over, we will start preparing for next year. I'm healthy and I feel good, so I definitely don't want to end my career like that, " assures.

Lada Vondrová, a quarterback, was not happy with the expected report "Of course, the postponement of the Olympics annoys me, but in reality there was probably no other option, so we will all have to deal with it somehow, dig up training and believe that the extra year of training will only be for good." she said.

The javelin thrower Nikola Ogrodníková does not hide the disappointment either. "I mourned the decision to postpone the Olympics. I still believed that the situation would improve and that the Olympic Games would take place this year. Fortunately, the fight for dreams did not end, but only shifted. I hope that at least some other races will be waiting for us this year, " he believes.

The Olympic Games will be postponed for the first time in 124 years. In their modern history, they have so far "only" taken place three times in the war years 1916, 1940 and 1944.