Just two days after the announced cooling off period of a maximum of four weeks, the Japanese hosts, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its German President Thomas Bach have the final postponement of the XXXII as a result of the corona pandemic. Olympic Games announced. The IOC press statement said on Tuesday about the new date of the event: "After 2020, but not later than summer 2021." The exact date of the event requires further coordination, e.g. with the World Association of Track and Field Athletes, whose world championship is planned from August 6th to 15th in 2021. Those responsible have already indicated that they are ready to move. The 19th Swimming World Championships 2021 in Fukuok, Japan (July 16 to August 1) must also be taken into account when rescheduling the Olympic Games.
For the international athlete community, but also for the organizers, partners and guests from all over the world, the decision to postpone the Olympic Games means, above all, less uncertainty. "It finally brings clarity and better planning, that's great," says 49er crewmistress Susann Beucke from Strande. With a twinkle in her eye, the team sailor from the Hanoverian Yacht Club, who leads TinLutz (Chiemsee Yacht Club) after two of three regattas in the national Olympic elimination, adds: "The only annoying thing is that we have an extra 29 in the sails because we are both in the Olympic Games this year would have been 29 years old. We'll have to replace that with the 30."
The 29 is still in the FX sail from TinLutz and Susann Beucke. It is expected to give way to a 30 soon …
The Allgäu laser world champion Philipp Buhl also welcomes the postponement of the Olympic summit to 2021. The helmsman from the North German RegattVerein says: "This is my dream solution. It means more time, no chaos. Only peace and order can return around the world. Then we can rebuild next year and prepare ourselves well."
Would have set course for Olympi2020 as world champion, but can also live very well with the new 2021 event date and welcomes the postponement in the corona pandemic: Laser helmsman Philipp Buhl
The situation for the third place in the World Championship in the 49er is a bit more difficult: Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel took a break from sailing last year, pushed ahead with their studies and then returned to the Olympic scene in late summer. With resounding success: Heil / Plößel won silver at the 2019 World Cup, and the class dominators and America's Cup defenders Peter Burling and Blair Tuke from New Zealand were able to challenge them on an equal footing. At the beginning of 2020, Heil / Plößel proved with a world championship bronze and the early sovereign victory in the national Olympic qualification that they could also be expected in the battle for medals at the Olympic Games in summer 2020. But now the games have been postponed for a year.
Just recently honored for the world championship title in laser and world championship bronze in 49er in the North German Regatt Club: Philipp Buhl (center), Erik Heil (left) and Thomas Plößel (right)
This could be a problem especially for helmsman Erik Heil, who wanted to continue his medical studies after summer 2020. For the 30-year-old Berliner, who won an acclaimed bronze medal with Thomas Plößel at the Olympics under Rio de Janeiro's Sugar Loaf in 2016, it now depends on how the Olympic Games, which have been postponed to 2021, will remain with the qualification decisions and intermediate results that have already been sailed or maybe because of the new Olympic year a new, early qualification has to be found? There is much to suggest that the results that have been sailed so far will continue to apply. Final decisions on this must first be agreed between the proposing German Sailing Association (DSV) and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) before they can be announced. Information on this will be available shortly.
Are curious about the course on which the Olympic Games should go in 2021: Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel