The FFN goes to the front line to demand the postponement of the Olympic Games

The French swimming federation officially demanded 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 French Swimming Federation was the first to react to the IOC press release. I officially wrote to the CNOSF, and to all of its Olympic Federations, my disagreement and my amazement at the indecency which consists in not studying the possibility of a postponement. pic.twitter.com/c3z5tsFy0k

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 conditions decent training which must then be obtained by the CNOSF (French Olympic Committee) ", adds the federation, the first French side to position itself for a report.

"There are countries where swimmers continue to train," noted 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 planned dates. On Friday, the powerful American swimming federation, USA Swimming, also urged its National Olympic Committee (USOPC) to request the postponement.

In the USA, the fate of the Olympics divides the Olympic committee and the swimming federation via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/2fTV32xd0b

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 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.

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• Coronavirus
• Sport
• OJ 2020
• CIO
• CNOSF