Paris (AFP)

The president of the French Athletics Federation (FFA), André Giraud, asked AFP on Sunday for a postponement, at least until the fall, of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games because of the coronavirus pandemic, calling on the French Olympic Committee to "take a stand".

"Everyone in the sport agrees that the Games cannot be held on the scheduled dates," said André Giraud, referring in particular to the powerful American swimming and athletics federations, as well as the Spanish federation of who called on Saturday to postpone the Olympics.

"Consider, if the crisis is contained by the end of May, a postponement of the Games in the fall. But plan C would be a postponement of 6 months or a year," advocated Mr. Giraud.

"We cannot accept that the IOC does not hear Olympic sport N.1," said Mr. Giraud, recalling that the president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, former boss of the London 2012 Olympics, had himself even estimated Thursday that the Olympics-2020, scheduled from July 24 to August 9, could be postponed.

In addition to the preparation made impossible by the Covid-19, "how to bring together 11,000 athletes in less than four months in the Olympic village?" Asked the boss of French athletics.

"The athletes are in a situation of stress and we need to reassure them. We can no longer wait!", He hammered to the address of the IOC but also of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF).

"I appeal to the CNOSF to act with the IOC. We need a united national position," added Mr. Giraud.

"At the Games, the French team is under the banner of the CNOSF. The responsibility at national level therefore lies with the president of the CNOSF (Denis Masseglie, editor's note) to listen to his federations and take a stand," said Mr. Giraud.

"If the IOC said + we are considering several solutions +, it would already be something", he said.

To this day, the IOC maintains its will to organize the Tokyo Games this summer. But he began to consult the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) via a questionnaire on the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the preparation for the Games.

© 2020 AFP