Just wasn't fair to keep it on the schedule when athletes can neither qualify nor train.
Teams cannot practice. Swimming/diving pools are shut. Hard to practice "social distancing" in boxing or wrestling. High performance athletes schedule their training in order to "peak" at the time of major competitions. They cannot just jump on a plane, show up, and give an Olympic performance.
It's a shame for some athletes who might not be able to get back into form a year from now due to finances, age, or injury. I've worked with a few of these, and the drive to make it onto an Olympic (or World Championship) squad is all consuming.
There is no guarantee that a delay to this fall is of any value. Models right now show the virus potentially being a major issue for the next 18 to 24 months before movements can return to normal, regardless of how the contagion is handled. And realistically there will be no hope of a global vaccine to be developed, manufactured and distributed to most of the population in that time. Our best hope would be that an existing drug provides an efficacious treatment, and that the virus takes a break in the heat of summer in the northern hemisphere.
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