The National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone (NOC-SLE) has updated members of the press on the Tokyo Olympic games and declared their support for Thomas Bach re-election as IOC President in 2021.
In a press conference held on Thursday July 30 2020 at the National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone 23 Howe Street office, chaired by the Organization’s treasurer Prince Swualley, it was confirmed that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games which was postponed to 2021 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19could have started since July 23rd 2020.
Making his presentation on the updates regarding the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, NOC Chef De Mission, Unisa Deen Kargbo said the games would have started since 23rd July 2020 but because it was postponed to begin on the 23rd of July 2021 because of the outbreak of the Corona virus. “We are hopeful that next year at this time the attention of the world will be in Japan where athletes will showcase their talents,” he said.
“The postponement of the games, no doubt, has caused untold difficulties to the sporting family. However, as countries begin to ease restrictions we are confidence that our athletes will speedily return to training to get themselves ready for the games.”
“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is in constant dialogue with the host nation to ensure the success of the games. Kargbo continued “let me announce to you that Tokyo 2020 organizers confirmed last Friday that they have secured the use of all 43 competition venues and the Olympic Village for the rescheduled Summer Olympics next year which was a significant hurdle related to the postponement of the games”.
Chef De Mission also said that in a report delivered to the IOC members at a virtual meeting last Friday, the organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori and CEO Toshiro Muto also confirmed that the competition schedule for next year’s Olympics will be largely unchanged.
“Officials said they planned to ask the international sport bodies and National Olympic Committee to streamline the games and reduce the total number of participants. More than 11, 000 athletes participated in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. We may expect stiff Qualification Process and less Wild Card”.
“The athlete entries will start in September 2020, we urge all those concern to ensure that their passports are valid, for those in the Weight Class Association please ensure the athletes meet the required weight that they were registered for in 2019.”
“Most importantly qualification will start very soon in different countries so we are hoping that restrictions on sports will soon be looked into,” CEO said.
“Let me also inform you that Senegal and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have mutually agreed to postpone the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Dakar 2022 to 2026,” he confirms.
Declaring his organization’s support for Thomas Bach continuation as IOC President, NOC’s Secretary General Joseph Nyande said he was very gratified that the effect of the COVID19 has been taken serious by the International Olympic committee.
“The leadership of IOC taught it fit to engage all sporting organization so that they will be able to be in one page to protect our athletes and officials and also to make sure we sustain the Olympic Games,” said he.
“Today we are here to say that Tokyo 2020 was not held because of COVID 19. The organization especially the IOC brings together the sporting family, so that they have a resolution, they take into consideration a very viable problem solving solution and that what Thomas Bach did with his executive, that we are going to postpone this Games to next year 2021 but the games will be still called Olympic 2020,” Nyande stated.
He added: “On behalf of the President of the National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone our colleagues and friends all over the world, we have about 206 NOCs are supporting the President of the IOC, Thomas Bach because of his hard working start and what he has done for the development of Olympism and Olympic ideas, his interest in the athletes and coaches and also to build up a very strong and sustainable organization, officials all over the world supported him in our last ANOC seminar so that he can continue as President of the IOC”.
“Today, I am pronouncing that on behalf of the President and his executive of the National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone, we support the Presidency of Thomas Bach for the IOC position because of the kind of the sustainable job that he has done towards the development of Olympic and sport in the world. All the 206 members of the IOC have agreed to support Thomas Bach,” the NOC Scribe concludes.