May 22, 2020
By Bassem Yamout
Staff Writer
As a result of the coronavirus, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been postponed until next summer. This is the first time in history the Olympics have been rescheduled. In 1916, 1940 and 1944, the Games were canceled because of the world wars.
Despite the yearlong delay, the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games will still be referred to as the 2020 Olympic Games. For the next year, the Olympic flame will continue to be stored and displayed in Fukushima, Japan.
Junior Lena Elamrani said she supports the postponement of the 2020 Olympics because she believes it would lead to more coronavirus-related fatalities.
“It was prudent and necessary to delay the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as it would interfere with social distancing,” Elamrani said.
In fact, she said she is concerned that one year may not be enough of a delay.
“I do not care much for Olympic consistency,” Elamrani said. “I would push it back two years for the sake of safety.”
Like Elamrani, Junior Michael Alvarez said he would have liked to see the Olympics delayed even longer than a year.
“I would postpone it for two years and somehow [create] a charity event to raise some money [for] the most ruptured economies across the world,” Alvarez said.
“I would push it back two years for the sake of safety.”
He said it was in the best interest of the athletes to push back the 2020 Olympics.
“This lowers the chances of competitors getting sick,” Alvarez said.
Junior GianCarlo Garcia said he hopes other organizations follow the Olympic Committee’s lead and cancel large events.
“Given that there is a global pandemic, I think canceling in-person/mass gathering is imperative,” Garcia said. “We should reopen the Olympics based solely on the advice of the World Health Organization.”
Garcia said it would be particularly dangerous for people from countries like the United States to participate in and attend international events like the Olympics before the coronavirus is completely under control.
“In a country where our healthcare system is based on private insurance, risking another resurgence of the virus is simply something people literally can’t afford,” Garcia said. “Even if it would help stimulate the world economy, the focus should be on keeping people safe.”
He said despite the major financial considerations surrounding the Olympics, preserving people’s health and well-being should be the Olympic Committee’s main priority.
“We need to come together as a society and realize people’s value as a human being is more important than their economic value,” said Garcia.
