The Olympic Federation of Ireland remain fully of the view that the Olympic Games will go ahead in July.
They’ve backed the International Olympic Committee’s dismissal of reports claiming the Tokyo games would be cancelled.
However, the OFI concede that the games will be very different to normal, with stringent measures in place to protect athletes.
Reports circulated earlier this week that the Japanese government had privately come to the conclusion that the rearranged Olympics would not go ahead.
They claimed Tokyo 2021 organisers had instead turned their intentions to securing the next available games in 2032.
"The Olympic Federation of Ireland has also been very clear on this subject in recent weeks," an OFI statement read.
"We remain fully of the view, based on regular updates from the Tokyo organisers, that the Games will go ahead in July this year."
Earlier, the IOC had said, "We will be implementing all possible countermeasures against COVID-19 and will continue to work closely with the IOC, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, and the Toyko Metropolitan Government in our preparations for holding a safe and secure Games this summer."
OFI statement:
The IOC and Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee has made a very strong and clear statement that they are fully committed to the successful delivery of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo this year.
Overnight media reports claimed incorrectly that a private decision had been made by the Government of Japan to cancel the Olympic Games.
The Japanese Government has stated categorically that this is not true.
The Olympic Federation of Ireland has also been very clear on this subject in recent weeks. We remain fully of the view, based on regular updates from the Tokyo organisers, that the Games will go ahead in July this year. We do feel that the Games will be very different, with stringent countermeasures in place to safeguard athletes.
Our focus remains on ensuring that our athletes are prepared and ready for this different type of games experience, accounting for the numerous Covid-19 countermeasures, along with a vaccination programmes.
Our intention is to circulate the most accurate and up to date news as it comes to us and to detail how that impacts the preparations of Team Ireland’s athletes and support staff. To this end we will be scheduling further briefings in our series of Tokyo Ready updates for the media in coming weeks.
In addition, the IOC will be holding a briefing for members of the media on 27 January. Details on how to register can be found here.
