Brussels (AFP)
Belgian swimmer Pieter Timmers, silver medalist in the 100m freestyle at the Rio 2016 Olympics, announced Thursday that he would not join the Tokyo Olympics following their postponement to 2021 due to the coronavirus epidemic , he announced to the Belgian media.
"The postponement of the Olympic Games (from 2020 to 2021 due to the Covid-19 crisis, editor's note) thwarted my plan which had been put together for years: give everything one last time to the Games and then start a new chapter in my life ", he explains to the daily newspaper La Derniere Heure.
"I don't want to change my plan. In other words: I'm not going to participate in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. It's a shame but it's a decision that appeases me because I made choices and that this is a well-considered decision, "said the 32-year-old swimmer.
"I have given everything for several years and I will continue to do so for some time to come. I will not stop immediately. I will participate in the European championships, which I therefore hope will be able to take place in August ( in Budapest) ", he concluded.
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