Latest news
Questions remain over Tokyo Olympic Games as Coronavirus forces shutdown of sports events
By Tom Walker
President Thomas Bach said the IOC has set up a joint task force to assess the potential threat posed by COVID-19 Credit: Shutterstock
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has admitted that the escalating Coronavirus outbreak is posing challenges for athletes trying to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
The list of sports events being cancelled due to the virus is getting longer each day – and has included many of the elite events acting as de-facto qualifiers for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
An event taking place in Tokyo, designed to train volunteers for the Games, has also been postponed from February to May.
The Tokyo Games are set to take place in the Japanese capital from 24 July to 9 August.
Italy, one of the countries worst affected by COVID-19 (the strain of Coronavirus that has caused the epidemic) has made a decision that all sporting events will be played behind closed doors until 3 April in an effort to contain the bug.
The decision will affect all Italy's Serie A games – one of the world's leading football leagues – while the Six Nations rugby match between Italy and England has also been postponed.
Speaking during the IOC's executive board meeting, Bach said that – despite the widespread effect the virus was having on global sport – there are no "ongoing discussions" over moving or postponing the Tokyo Games.
"I can tell you that in the meeting of the IOC executive board neither the word 'cancellation' nor the word 'postponement' was even mentioned," Bach said.
He added, however, that a joint task force led by IOC and the organising committee of Tokyo 2020 had been formed to discuss and assess the potential threat posed by COVID-19.
"Of course we are a responsible organisation, this is why we have this joint taskforce which is having regular meetings and we are addressing any issues which may arise, but we are not speculating on any kind of future developments," Bach said.
Analysis: COVID-19 and its effect on sport
A list of events cancelled or postponed by the outbreak, by sport:
ARCHERY
- World Cup, Shanghai (May 4-10) cancelled
ATHLETICS
- World indoor championships, Nanjing, 13-15 March
- Hong Kong Marathon, 9 February
- Asian indoor championships, Hangzhou 12-13 February
BADMINTON
- China Masters, Hainan 25 February - 1 March
- German Open, Mulheim 3-8 March
- Polish Open, Krakow, 26-29 March
BIATHLON
- Olympic test event, Zhangjiakou, China, 27 February - 2 March
CLIMBING
- World Cup in Wujiang, China 18-19 April
- World Cup in Chongqing, China 22 April
F1 (Motor racing)
- F1 Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai, 19 April
FOOTBALL
- Asian Champions League - a number of matches involving Chinese teams postponed
- Chinese Super League, start of league postponed
- K League in South Korea, start of league postponed
- J League in Japan, all matches postponed from 25 February to 11 March
- Swiss Super League and Challenge League, all games postponed until 15 March
GOLF
- HSBC Women's World Championship, Singapore 27 February - 1 March
- China Open, Shenzhen, 23-26 April
ICE HOCKEY
- Women's Challenge Cup of Asia, Manila, Philippines, 23-28 February
MODERN PENTATHLON
- World championships, Xiamen, 25-31 May
MOTORCYCLING
- MotoGP – two Grand Prixs cancelled
- Qatar Grand Prix in Doha on 8 March
- Thailand Grand Prix in Buriram on 22 March
ROWING
- Asia and Oceania Olympic qualifying regatta in Chungju, South Korea, 27-30 April
RUGBY
- Six Nations: Ireland vs. Italy, Dublin, 7 March
- Six Nations: Italy vs. England, Rome, 14 March
- Hong Kong Sevens, 3-5 April
- Asia women's championship, Hong Kong, 14-22 March
SKIING
- Alpine World Cup, Yanqing, China 15-16 February
SPEED SKATING
- Short track world championships, Seoul, 13-15 March
SWIMMING
- Asian water polo championships, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, 12-16 February
- Diving world series, Beijing 7-9 March
- China Olympic trials, Qingdao, 28 March - 4 April
TABLE TENNIS
- World team championships, Busan, South Korea, 22-29 May
- South Korea Open, Busan 16-21 June
- Australian Open, Geelong, 23-28 June
TAEKWONDO
- Asian Olympic qualifying tournament, 10-11 April
TENNIS
- WTA: Xi'an Open, 13-19 April
TRIATHLON
- Olympic mixed relay qualifier, Chengdu, China, 9 May
- World Cup, Chengdu, China, 10 May
VOLLEYBALL
- Beach volleyball World Cup, Yangzhou, China 22-26 April
WATER POLO
- Olympic women's qualifying tournament, Trieste, Italy 8-15 March
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has admitted that the escalating
Coronavirus outbreak is posing challenges for athletes trying to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
SAR,EVT,PUB
imagesX/THUMB344854_147588_39230.jpg
Latest news
15 Aug 2024
The latest Moving Communities Impact Report from Sport England is out today (15 August) and
14 Aug 2024
Blink Fitness, the affordable fitness brand founded in 2011 and owned by Equinox Holdings, has
14 Aug 2024
Everyone Active will take over the operation of Sheffield’s sports and leisure venues from 1
14 Aug 2024
Fitness First has created a premium membership offering by deploying HealthHero’s full suite of services,
13 Aug 2024
Twelve million shares in Life Time Group Holdings are currently in play since CEO, Bahram
13 Aug 2024
The HCM Summit, which will be held in London on 24 October, has announced EGYM
The BLK BOX team is thrilled to unveil its design and construction work on the
13 Aug 2024
The padel craze continues with the launch of a new club at Champneys Mottram Hall
12 Aug 2024
Marc Mastronardi takes up his role as president of Equinox today (12 August). Mastronardi has
12 Aug 2024
UAE fitness chain, GymNation, has acquired a Fitness First club in Dubai, to merge with
12 Aug 2024
John Foy has been appointed operations director for Saudi Arabian operator, IN2 Fitness. Foy has
09 Aug 2024
The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) has teamed up
09 Aug 2024
Telehealth specialist HealthHero has announced a partnership with UK operator, Parkwood Leisure. The new offering
In today's rapidly evolving fitness industry, where many online courses promise secret formulas for entrepreneurial
08 Aug 2024
Martin Seibold, CEO of LifeFit Group, has joined Les Mills as a non-executive director. Acknowledged
08 Aug 2024
Planet Fitness has exceeded expectations with its Q2 results, causing share prices to jump by
08 Aug 2024
Xponential Fitness posted a net loss of U$13.7 million for Q2 2024, following the US$4.4
08 Aug 2024
Freedom Leisure has merged with 1610, a not-for-profit trust based in the west of England.
07 Aug 2024
Emotional health and habit-tracking are two of the fastest growing health categories according to corporate
06 Aug 2024
London-based operator, Foundry, has completed its third round of investment as it prepares for expansion,
05 Aug 2024
Wellness platform, Samsung Health, has partnered with fitness brand, Zumba to deliver dance content for
02 Aug 2024
The president of Crunch Fitness, Chequan Lewis, says the company is accelerating its growth plans
HCM promotional features
Sponsored
“The level of support I get from Xplor Gym is what customer service is all about ”
HCM promotional features
Sponsored
Adding EGYM’s easy onboarding, personalised workouts and progress-tracking
is driving retention and engagement at Vivacity Premier Fitness
HCM promotional features
Sponsored
Life Fitness has reimagined cardio with the launch of its Symbio line which has been
designed with advanced biomechanics and offers deep levels of customisation
HCM promotional features
Sponsored
A major refurbishment of Sport Ireland Fitness by Technogym has
created a world-class public gym at the home of Irish sport
HCM promotional features
Sponsored
At the heart of the Sydney Swans new headquarters in Australia is an elite
player-focused training facility by strength equipment specialist BLK BOX
HCM promotional features
Sponsored
Sustainability in the fitness industry is coming on in leaps and bounds as more
operators refurbish their gym equipment to save money and the planet
HCM promotional features
Sponsored
We all know we need to stand more. Now an exciting new partnership between Physical and Teca Fitness expands this thinking into UK gyms and beyond
HCM promotional features
Sponsored
Coaching workshops from Keith Smith and
Adam Daniel have been designed to empower
your team and transform your service
HCM promotional features
HCM magazine
Disappointment about being
passed over for promotion
gave Neil Randall, the resilience
he needed to climb the ranks.
He talks to Kath Hudson about
the challenges he faced early
in his career and the skills
he learned from them
HCM magazine
As the UK healthcare sector struggles with ever-increasing demand, health club operators are stepping in and offering members welcome medical support. Kath Hudson reports
HCM magazine
“Social media is causing huge amounts of poor mental health and a lot of fitness influencers don't understand the damage they’re doing”
HCM magazine
The Maybourne Group has unveiled its all-new London
hotel The Emory. Megan Whitby goes behind the scenes
at Surrenne, its cutting-edge health and wellness club
HCM magazine
Indoor bikes may remain stationary, but the discipline is in constant motion.
Innovators tell Steph Eaves how they’re keeping pace with the latest trends
HCM magazine
A new study has found major differences in the way males and females utilise fat during exercise, as Kath Hudson reports
HCM magazine
Weight loss drugs are altering consumer behaviour, disrupting sectors from food retailing (smaller portions) to apparel (less fabric needed). We need to move fast to align with this new reality
HCM magazine
Dr Matthew Wade and Georgie
Poole talk us through research
from UK Active and Savanta that
gives a deeper understanding of
what motivates consumers
HCM magazine
Dr Tim Anstiss is developing coachbots that are supporting positive
behaviour change for operators such as Life Leisure and KA Leisure
HCM magazine
HCM People
Jonny Wilkinson
Founder, One Living“We’re striving to awaken another dimension in people and share with vulnerability, truth and honesty”
HCM magazine
Appointed president of Xponential Fitness when she was only 34, Sarah Luna attributes her career success to the grit, determination and stamina she honed as a dancer by day and Pilates teacher by night.
She talks to Kath Hudson about how owning her choices has given her the resilience to take on one of the top jobs in the US fitness industry, while also raising a family
HCM magazine
Current vacancies
General Manager Tennis Swansea 365
£36,000 - £40,000pa + benefits
Swansea, United Kingdom
Current vacancies
General Manager Coach Gyms
£40,000pa basic + bonus + commission
Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Read the latest issue
Featured supplier news
In today's rapidly evolving fitness industry, where many online courses promise secret
formulas for entrepreneurial success, the reality is that few provide the necessary
knowledge to thrive in this fast-changing profession.
Featured supplier news
The BLK BOX team is thrilled to unveil its design and construction work on the brand-new
Cardiff Metropolitan University's Archers Performance Centre.
Company profiles
We Work Well is a global premier hosted buyer event company, connecting high-level executives from ...
Company profiles
As the UK’s leading provider of both leisure centres and libraries, GLL operate nearly 400 ...
Catalogue Gallery
Click on a catalogue to view it online
Property & Tenders
Jersey
Jersey War Tunnels
Property & Tenders
Diary dates
08-10 Sep 2024
Wyndham® Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs™ Resort, Lake Buena Vista, United States
Diary dates
19-19 Sep 2024
The Salil Hotel Riverside - Bangkok, Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Diary dates
01-04 Oct 2024
REVĪVŌ Wellness Resort Nusa Dua Bali, Kabupaten Badung, Indonesia
Diary dates
Search news, features & products:
Find a supplier:
