Paralympics Ireland welcomes the decision of the Japanese Prime Minister, Abe Shinzo and the International Olympic Committee with the full support of the International Paralympic Committee to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games to 2021. The Paralympic Games will now take place at a date beyond 2020 but no later than the Summer of 2021.
Postponing the Paralympic Games is a decision that was not taken lightly and was done in the best interests of the athletes, their support teams and the millions of spectators that were due to attend the games.
Paralympics Ireland supports IPC’s decision and the clarity it gives athletes and organisers regarding the future of the games. We will now implement our contingency plans to ensure that Irish Paralympic athletes will be supported through this process, mitigate the effects of the cancellation and to put in place new programmes to help athletes realign their training and competition schedules.
Paralympics Ireland CEO, Miriam Malone said ‘This was an unprecedented situation for the organisers of the Tokyo 2020
Paralympic and Olympic Games to face and postponement is the only safe option to protect athletes and supporters alike. Our guiding principle has always been the protection of our Irish athletes, their health and their safety and I believe that this decision safeguards our athletes in line with this principle. We are already rolling out our contingency plans for athletes and we will do everything in our power to ensure that our Irish athletes will be able to adapt as seamlessly as possible to the new arrangements when they are confirmed.’
