Paris (AFP)

The French Swimming Federation officially called for the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Saturday, in the name of health emergency and sports equity, after its powerful American counterpart who put pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ).

"Faced with the international nature of the unprecedented health crisis" of Covid-19, "the current context does not allow us to calmly envisage the smooth running of the 2020 Olympic Games, scheduled from July 24 to August 9, 2020", which must bring together 11,000 athletes from around the world, writes the FFN after a meeting "by videoconference" of its steering committee, which asks the IOC "to study in all transparency the possibility of a postponement".

The containment measures "in many countries do not guarantee sports fairness in the preparation of this competition. In France in particular, the athletes are disadvantaged by a general confinement which no longer allows them to train at all, and the FFN must be by their side either by the option of postponement, or by obtaining decent training conditions which must then be obtained by the CNOSF (French Olympic Committee) ", adds the federation, the first French side to position itself for a postponement.

"There are countries where swimmers continue to train," said the FFN.

The president of the FFN Gilles Sezionale, also expressed "his deep disagreement in front of the line" of the president of the CNOSF Denis Masseglia, of which he criticizes "the firm position" in support of the maintenance of the Olympics on the scheduled dates.

On Friday, the powerful American swimming federation, USA Swimming, also urged its National Olympic Committee (USOPC) to request the postponement.

After the postponement of several major international sports competitions, such as the Euro-2020 football postponed to 2021, or the Roland-Garros tennis tournament from May to September, the IOC is under pressure to decide in turn to postpone of the Tokyo Olympics. On Friday, IOC President Thomas Bach assured the New York Times that "several scenarios" were under consideration but that it would be "premature" to postpone the event to another four months from the deadline.

The budget for the 2020 edition of this planetary event amounts to more than 11 billion euros invested in infrastructure or organization. At the end of February, Thomas Bach indicated that more than 4.5 million banknotes had already been sold in Japan, out of a total of 7.8 million.

© 2020 AFP