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Athletes must consider their own health before travelling to Olympics, says Ian Thorpe


Olympic great Ian Thorpe is urging Australia’s athletes to consider their long-term health before deciding to compete at the Tokyo Games. As concerns mount over the spreading coronavirus, the former swimmer says Olympic organisers must ensure athletes will be safe at the Games.

“I would most definitely be concerned,” Thorpe said in Canberra on Thursday. “What we need to know is to use some of the best expert disease specialists to find out what is the risk to the team. What is the risk to the other nations and how can we have an Olympic Games, one that is safe, that doesn’t put athletes at risk?

“What you have to understand as well is there are other risks associated with an Olympic Games, the threat of a terrorist event taking place… And we [athletes] take into consideration those things before we decide to compete.

“I think the decision should come down to each individual athlete. But whether or not they want to compete, that they should take their health into consideration first.”

Australia’s Olympic team chef de mission Ian Chesterman said on Wednesday the spread of the coronavirus was a serious concern, but there had been no indication given to Australia that the Tokyo Games would not proceed.

Thorpe’s comments come after International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound said the world’s health would have to be at stake for the Games to be cancelled or postponed.

Pound, also a former swimmer, said it is not impossible to reschedule an Olympics for a year later but wanted athletes who are training for Tokyo to know the IOC is fully committed to having them at the opening ceremonies on 24 July.

“Only if there is the worst possible outcome of this virus and it becomes a real pandemic or world health is at stake then we reluctantly have to say well that’s more important frankly than the Olympics,” Pound told Reuters. “But we will do our very best to make sure that you get your Olympic opportunity.”

Pound said any decision on whether to cancel or postpone the Olympics had a lot of moving parts and would involve the IOC, Tokyo authorities, governments and international agencies who all felt it would not be a safe scenario to hold the event.

Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday called for a two-week curb on sports events as two more coronavirus deaths in the country heightened concerns. A number of international sports events have been hit by the coronavirus, with some competitions being postponed and others cancelled outright.

Japan’s domestic top-flight football league had already been cancelled for two weeks but other events, including the Super Rugby competition, are now also affected. The clash in Osaka on 8 March between the Japan-based Sunwolves and Australia’s Brumbies has been placed in doubt, with future fixtures also under discussion.

“Advanced discussions have been held to adequately address this recent announcement by the Japanese government,” governing body Sanzaar said. “Sanzaar is now working to determine if this match can be relocated. Sanzaar will issue further details on the position of this match and any potential further disruptions in the near future.”

The potential cancellation or relocation of the game from Osaka would be the first Super Rugby match to be affected by the virus, although the Ireland-Italy Six Nations clash in Dublin on 7 March was postponed on Wednesday due to an outbreak in northern Italy.

The Hong Kong and Singapore legs of the Sevens World Series, originally scheduled for April, were last month also postponed until October to curtail the spread of the virus.

There are also doubts over the first three Formula One grands prix of the new season, beginning in Melbourne on 15 March and followed by races in Bahrain a week later and Vietnam on 5 April. The Chinese Grand Prix has already been postponed.



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