2020 VISION
Tokyo Olympics could be postponed until end of the year to stop coronavirus spread with Games ODDS-ON to be axed
THIS summer's Olympics in Toyko could be POSTPONED until the end of the year due to coronavirus fears - as some bookies now have the Games ODDS-ON to be cancelled entirely.
Japan's Olympics minister Heiko Hashimoto has revealed organisers are doing everything in their power to have the Games go ahead as planned.
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But with the deadly bug - which originated in China - continuing to spread they may be forced to push it back a few months.
The sporting world has already been rocked by the coronavirus outbreak - with Liverpool fans sweating at the prospect of missing out on a first Premier League title, with the rest of the season potentially being cancelled.
Football matches across the globe, including in Italy and Japan, have been postponed.
Meanwhile, there are fears over a number of other events, including the London Marathon, the Six Nations and Formula One races.
Health secretary Matt Hancock admitted it was "far too early" too make any decisions, but officials may have to look at restricting participation in the marathon on April 26.
Tokyo already reduced their field for their marathon at the weekend to just elite athletes - cancelling the public race over fears of spreading the disease.
The same city is set to host the Olympics this summer - and minister Hashimoto revealed: "The contract calls for the Games to be held within 2020.
";That could be interpreted as allowing a postponement.
"We are doing all we can to ensure that the Games go ahead as planned."
Despite that, Betfair have released their latest odds, with the Olympics 8/11 to be cancelled entirely.
The update comes just days after International Olympic Committee chief Dick Pound said it was more likely the Games are cancelled than postponed.
All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual.
IOC chief Dick Pound on whether the Olympics will go ahead
Pound claimed: “You just don’t postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics.
"There’s so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons, and competitive seasons, and television seasons.
"You can’t just say, `We’ll do it in October.’ You’re probably looking at a cancellation."
Pound went on to say that moving the Games to another part of the world was not a viable option either, with Japan having officially spent £10BILLION on the spectacle.
A national audit suggested that figure could in fact be twice that.
On relocating the Games, Pound admitted: "There are few places in the world that could think of gearing up facilities in that short time to put something on.”
Despite that, Pound insisted athletes should keep training as normal - as, for now at least, the Games will go ahead.
He continued: “As far as we all know, you’re going to be in Tokyo. All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual.
"So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation.”
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MORE TOKYO 2020 STORIES
In 2016, for the previous Olympics, there was speculation the Rio de Janeiro Games would be cancelled, due to an outbreak of Zika.
Despite the fears, those Olympics did go ahead.
But this year, a host of sporting events, including football in Italy, cycling, rugby and Formula One have all been affected by the latest viral outbreak.
Despite that, health secretary Hancock revealed there are currently no plans to cancel Premier League matches, but admitted they are monitoring the situation.
Serious chance of coronavirus turning into full blown pandemic in UK, Health Secretary Matt Hancock admits
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