IJF To Extend Olympic Qualification Period
The world was in shock as several sporting events were cancelled due to the coronavirus. MLB, NHL, NCAA, AHL, boxing and MMA events were all altered in some way. Now, it is time to determine how to handle the situation. This is especially true when it comes to the Olympics.
According to The New Indian Express, the International Judo Federation created a plan to extend Olympic qualifiers from May 25 to June 30.
The governing body could have extended the qualifiers or cancelled everything altogether. This comes after the Judo Grand Prix in Morocco was cancelled. The IJF also suspended all competition, including the Olympic qualifying bouts until (at that point) the end of April.
“We are following the directives of the health authorities to suspend all activities until further notice,” Nasser Al Tamimi, general secretary of UAEWJF stated. “Safety is paramount for us and we’ll strictly follow the recommendations of the health authority to ensure the highest level of safety measures are maintained until we can resume normal activities.”
Competition within the IJF getting postponed or cancelled was the latest of a number of events in the combat sports world that blew up social media and the world.
The Olympics, currently scheduled for Tokyo, Japan this summer, is under consideration. IOC member Dick Pound mentioned that as of now, the Summer Games are still on.
“As far as we all know, you’re going to be in Tokyo,” Pound went on to say regarding the athletes. “All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual. So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation.”
According to the latest from CNN, over 124,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed with over 4,607 deaths.