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2020 Tokyo Olympic Games likely to be postponed due to coronavirus

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The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will be postponed in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, Senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound told USA Today.

"On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided," Pound said. "The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know."

The Olympics will likely be moved to 2021, with the IOC currently working on a solution due to the evolving situation. 

"It will come in stages," Pound added. "We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense."

The announcement comes following Canada and Australia confirming they would not send athletes to the Olympics in 2020 if they were to go ahead.  

"While we recognize the inherent complexities around a postponement, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our athletes and the world community," the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee said in a joint statement .

"This is not solely about athlete health -- it is about public health."

Despite the calls for postponing the Games, the International Olympic Committee  issued a statement  saying they planned to wait before making a final call.

"The IOC remains fully committed to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and with more than four months to go before the Games there is no need for any drastic decisions at this stage; and any speculation at this moment would be counter-productive." 

Canada Basketball had their sights set on qualifying for the Games through four Olympic Qualifying Tournaments which were scheduled for late June 2020.

Qualification for Tokyo 2020 would have been the country's second Olympics appearance in history and its first since the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

As it stands, the team's currently qualified include hosts Japan, Nigeria, Argentina, USA, Iran, Australia, France and World Cup champion Spain.

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Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor for The Sporting News.