The International Olympic and Paralympic Committees announced Tuesday that the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will be postponed to 2021, due to the ongoing logistical and public health concerns surrounding the COVID-19 global pandemic.
We at USA Triathlon believe this was the right decision to protect the health and safety of athletes, spectators and communities around the world. Still, we recognize the challenges this decision creates for our U.S. Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls who have been preparing for years for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Despite the shared disappointment, our elite U.S. triathletes and paratriathletes have maintained a positive perspective, as the shift now turns to training and preparing for 2021.
Here was some of the reaction to the news on social media.
World Champion Katie Zaferes knows the 2021 Games will take on even more meaning, as she says that it “will be the first time the world is reuniting and coming together after overcoming such a challenging time together.”
Summer Rappaport — the only U.S. triathlete who has qualified for the Games so far — knows the world will use the celebration to “be inspired after the tough times we face now.”
Ben Kanute — a 2016 U.S. Olympian and Tokyo Olympic hopeful — has already shifted his focus. “Timelines change, but goals don’t,” Kanute said in an Instagram post.
Taylor Spivey, who finished fourth in the 2019 ITU World Triathlon Series rankings, knows it’s important to take a step back and realize what’s really important. On Instagram, she said that the “gravity of what’s going on currently far outweighs sport. We can wait, but the situation cannot.”
Hailey Danz, a 2016 Paralympic Silver Medalist, recognizes that this global crisis is “an opportunity for Olympic and Paralympic athletes to be leaders in doing the right thing.” On Instagram, she shared the following perspective. “When we look back on our lives, I think we’ll be more proud to say that we stood on the right side of history than we will be of anything we accomplished athletically,” Danz said.
Aaron Scheidies — a 2016 Paralympian in cycling and Tokyo paratriathlon hopeful — urged the world to unite in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nine-time Triathlon ITU World Cup medalist Kirsten Kasper expressed gratitude for the decision that was made, thankful that the IOC was “putting the focus on global health and safety.”
Rising star Matt McElroy said what year the Olympics takes place doesn’t affect his process and his goals.
Read USA Triathlon’s statement on the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games here.