Sebastian Coes on Japan Games

LONDON – The Tokyo Olympics should take place because there is no major health risk, according to Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics and member of the International Olympic Committee.

“They will move forward and they should move forward,” Coe told CNBC Thursday.

As cases of Covid continue to rise in Japan and many other countries, around 10,500 athletes prepare to travel to Japan to compete in the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito has expressed concerns about the potential spread of the virus during last week’s games.

“The emperor is extremely concerned about the current state of coronavirus infections,” Yasuhiko Nishimura, grand steward of the Imperial Household Agency, told a press conference, according to The Guardian.

“Given the public’s concerns, it appears to be concerned about whether the event would cause the spread of infections,” Nishimura added.

But Coe said he was “not sure there is a huge risk involved in it,” adding that he doesn’t think “any event in the past 40 or 50 years has ever happened. as much foresight given to the protection of key assets, in our case, the athletes, but above all, the protection of the local communities that will host our events. ”

The former Olympian, who won four gold medals for Britain in the middle distance running events, admitted that if the games were held it wouldn’t be business as usual for the athletes.

“There will be no karaoke bars or Imperial Palace tours,” he said.

“If unfortunately we have athletes who for some reason test positive after they arrive in Tokyo – because they will be tested before and when they land – then you know we have almost field hospital proportions. , in terms of controlling it, ”he said.

About 70% of athletes only have one chance to compete in the Olympics in their career, Coe said, adding that this is an emotional statistic for him at the moment.

He pointed out that World Athletics had hosted hundreds of events and two World Championships in the past year, and “none of our events have been a super spreader.”

Japan has so far reported more than 800,000 coronavirus cases and 14,750 deaths. On Wednesday, new infections in Tokyo reached 714, the highest number in more than a month.

It comes as the World Health Organization said on Thursday that the postponement of the Euro 2020 football tournament was behind the current rise in coronavirus infections in Europe.

The WHO has said a 10-week drop in new coronavirus infections across the continent has ended and a new wave of infections is inevitable if football fans and others let their guard down.

New cases in Euro 2020 host cities rose 10% last week as crowds mingled following the easing of travel and social restrictions, the WHO said.

“We have to look far beyond the stadiums themselves,” WHO emergency officer Catherine Smallwood told reporters.

“We have to watch how people get there, do they travel in large, crowded bus convoys? And when they leave the stadiums, do they go to crowded bars and pubs to watch the games,” he said. she adds.

“It’s these small, continuous events that cause the virus to spread,” Smallwood said.

Disclosure: CNBC’s parent company, NBCUniversal, owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the US licensee to broadcast all of the Summer and Winter Olympics until 2032.