(ATR) The European Olympic boxing qualifier, due to run until March 24, has been suspended.
The event, being held at London’s Copper Box Arena, began on Saturday with spectators. The IOC Boxing Task Force (BTF) on Sunday announced that it would be held without fans starting on Monday. But on Monday, the BTF said the event would be closed down after the evening session.
The BTF also said that the Americas and final world qualifiers, which were scheduled to take place in May, were also suspended.
The Olympic boxing qualifier for the Americas, scheduled to run from March 26-April 3 in Buenos Aires, was originally cancelled on March 11, hours before the coronavirus outbreak was termed a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The African qualifying event and the one for Asia and Oceania, rescheduled from Wuhan, China to Amman, Jordan, have both been completed.
In a statement, the BTF said it "will continue to evaluate the situation daily, aiming to complete the distribution of the remaining Tokyo 2020 boxing quota places in May and June.
The BTF says "its priority remains the qualification of athletes on the field of play, and it will inform all stakeholders as soon as more information is available".
The BTF took over the organizing of the Tokyo 2020 boxing tournament after AIBA was suspended by the IOC last summer.
Flame Handover Closed to Public
The Hellenic Olympic Committee on Monday announced Thursday’s Handover ceremony for the Olympic Flame to Tokyo 2020 organizers will also be behind closed doors.
The HOC says there will be a dance of the priestesses will be limited to 10 participants. A torch relay including two Greek and two Japanese torchbearers will take place inside the empty Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.
The rights holding broadcasters for Greece and Japan, the Olympic Channel, and 20 Japanese journalists and photographers selected by Tokyo 2020 will be in attendance. The Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the Eurokinissi photo agency will also be there to cover the event.
The arrival ceremony for the flame in Japan on March 20 has already been scaled back. The event will be behind closed doors and school children will no longer be a part of it. Tokyo 2020 on Monday announced changes to the first few days of the relay.
While the "main displays of the Olympic Flame will be staged largely as planned for two days each in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures" from March 20-25, organizers said in a statement "some of the ancillary events and exhibitions"have been cancelled or adjusted. Tokyo 2020 also admitted that additional changes could happen in the future.
Coronavirus News on Around the Rings
Written by Gerard Farek
For general comments or questions,click here.
Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
Últimas Noticias
Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore
Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation chief of sport development Luke Bodensteiner says there is a “real urgency to make this happen in 2030”. He discusses the mission of the non-profit organization, the legacy from the 2002 Winter Games and future ambitions.
IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing
Thomas Bach, in an open letter on Friday, also thanked stakeholders for their “unprecedented” efforts to make Tokyo 2020 a success despite the pandemic.
Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts
The IOC says issues concerning governance, finance, and refereeing and judging must be sorted out to its satisfaction. AIBA says it’s confident that will happen and the federation will be reinstated.
IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power
Thomas Bach says the Afghanistan NOC remains under IOC recognition, noting that the current leadership was democratically elected in 2019. But he says the IOC will be monitoring what happens in the future. The story had been revealed on August 31 in an article by Miguel Hernandez in Around the Rings
North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022
Playbooks for Beijing 2022 will ”most likely” be released in October, according to IOC President Thomas Bach.
