Staging of Tokyo Olympics dependent on vaccine

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said on Thursday that Japan’s 2021 Olympic Games hosting rests on the availability of a vaccine that can combat the coronavirus pandemic, which has ground sports all over the world to a screeching halt and hasn’t offered an idea on when resumptions are possible.

“We will await the outcome of all inputs for the final decision of the IOC (International Olympic Committee),” Tolentino said. “For now, we are adopting a wait-and-see attitude depending on when a vaccine becomes accessible.”

IOC president Thomas Bach has recently consulted 100 IOC members from different countries in three separate sessions, getting their views on how to handle the consequences of the health crisis.

Richard Budgett, the IOC’s medical and scientific director, took the floor during the discussions and opened the vaccine issue, according to an Agence France-Presse report.

“Once a vaccine becomes available, it will answer all the queries on how the Olympics will proceed,” said Tolentino, who also functions as Cavite representative and PhilCycling president.

Bach announced the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics two months ago, rescheduling the global quadrennial Summer Games to July 23 to Aug. 8 next year.

“If the Olympics push through as scheduled, the presence of spectators during the Games will be one of the major matters that has to be discussed,” Tolentino said.

Bach wouldn’t say whether a vaccine was a prerequisite for going ahead with the Olympics, but was lukewarm to the idea of holding them without fans.

The IOC chief has supported Japan’s stance that the Games will have to be canceled if the dreaded COVID-19 isn’t under control by next year.

The first peacetime postponement of the Olympics has forced the IOC to set aside $800 million to help organizers and sports federations meet the extra expenses of rescheduling the Games.

According to reports, the Games were due to cost $12.6 billion, shared among the organizing committee, the Japanese government and Tokyo City.

Meanwhile, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chair William “Butch” Ramirez got the backing of the Department of Education (DepEd) to retain physical education in the country’s educational curriculum.

Ramirez wrote DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones and emphasized the importance of physical education (PE) in nation-building and the overall education of the Filipino youth.

In her reply to Ramirez, the secretary has assured the PSC chief that DepEd would fight for the retention of PE in schools.

“PE is an important part of our children’s education. It is so important that I believe it should become a core subject,” Ramirez said.

A few weeks ago, a lawmaker cited PE as one of two subjects that might be temporarily removed so that educators can focus on “key subjects” during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“We have chosen to let the tide of negative criticism pass, believing that the comment was done with the best interest of other matters in mind and was not meant to minimize physical education,” Ramirez said in his letter to Briones.

“As head of the government’s sports agency, it is incumbent upon me to present our position on the issue,” Ramirez added.