(ThyBlackMan.com) One the biggest global news stories of 2020 was supposed to be the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokoyo, Japan. 2020 will now be defined by COVID-19 and how it has affected scores of lives throughout the world. The cancellation of the Men’s and Women’s NCAA College Basketball Tournaments and the suspensions of the NBA and NHL seasons that were in progress represented the most dramatic impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has made to the world of sports. However, the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics is now the biggest effect that the coronavirus pandemic has made now relating to sports and athletics. This postponement marks only the fourth time in the history of the modern Olympics that the Games are being postponed. Here are three major reasons why the decision by Japan and the International Olympic Committee to move the Summer Olympic Games to 2021 was the right decision (from least important to most important reason):
- Marketing potential Olympic stars
During the Olympics, there are often stars that live up to the hype (Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles) that accompanied them prior to their Olympic performances. There are also new stars that emerge after they gain international attention after their Olympic performances like American swimmer Simone Manuel, the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic swimming medal, who shined during the 2016 Rio Olympics. The 2020 Tokoyo Olympics was going to be the first Olympics in a while without either Phelps or Bolt and was not even going to have other recent Olympic standouts like boxer Claressa Shields and American sprinter Allyson Felix.
Fortunately, Simone Biles and Simone Manuel are among the recognizable names that were due to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. Because much of the world has been focused on COVID-19, the focus on the names and faces to watch for this year’s Summer Olympics has not be comparable to recent Olympics. This one year delay gives television companies and companies like Nike a chance to promote and highlight some of the athletes that will compete in the Summer Olympics.
- Logistical nightmare
One of the biggest reasons that “March Madness” was canceled this year was due to the amount of schools and universities that compete in the NCAA Basketball Tournaments from various states throughout America. It was nearly impossible to guarantee public safety from the coronavirus with so many people coming together from various parts of the country for a major sporting event that is played out throughout over a month. The Olympics is like that thousandfold with the amount of countries that participate and the media coverage that it receives over the world.
Putting people in hotels, lodging, and managing the right amount of social distancing while preparing to hold an Olympics is a monumental task. COVID-19 is a pandemic that is worse in some countries than others and it is hard to justify having the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games when there are participating countries like America where the virus remains a significant problem even if there would be limited fans or even no fans in the stands watching athletic events.
- Public health and safety
This is unprecedented with the COVID-19 pandemic. There is not currently a vaccine or cure for the coronavirus that is available to the public and having a sporting event of the magnitude of the Summer Olympic Games seems irrational right now with the public health of millions of people in the balance. It is very costly that Japan has to move the Olympics to next year but it is truly the best move.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines