Legendary runner Mo Farah has said that while it is disappointing to see the Tokyo Olympics postponed by a year, he also made it clear that delaying the Games was the best possible solution keeping in mind the impact the coronavirus outbreak has had on the world.
“The Olympics was about the last thing to get cancelled. In a way obviously it’s disappointing it has been cancelled but I am glad it has been cancelled,” Farah told Talksport radio on Friday.
“In a way we could have been in a far worse situation, there are no races leading up to it, athletes can’t test themselves. I would probably need about six, seven, eight races beforehand to see what kind of shape I am in,” Farah said.
“It is what it is and it gives us another year of preparation. At the moment, nobody is thinking about that. I am still running every day, just trying to get through this crisis time.
“It is not just sport, it is affecting everything we do. It is a difficult situation for everyone and particularly for the older people, the more vulnerable.
“We just have to stay together, stay strong. We just have to get through this. It is a test for everywhere in the world and it is growing.”
The announcement of the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics was made by the IOC and the organising committee last week after President Thomas Bach’s telephonic conversation with Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Summer Games had never been postponed in its 31 editions from the first modern Olympics in 1896, although they were cancelled in 1916, 1940 and 1944 due to war.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, will now be held from July 23 to August 8 next year and the Para Olympic Games will be held from August 24 to September 5.