The Canadian Olympic Committee and Paralympic Committee announced that the team will not participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Even as the fate of the Games hangs in the balance, Canada is the first nation to pull out. The IOC is expected to take a call by the end of April and a July 24 starting date is looking less likely by the day.?
Over 13,000 people are dead all over the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.?
"The COC and CPC urgently call on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to postpone the Games for one year and we offer them our full support in helping navigate all the complexities that rescheduling the Games will bring," the committees said in a statement.?
"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 statement added.?
The IOC said it would discuss options of postponing the Games by a year or more if needed due to the outbreak, but maintained cancelling the event was not an option.?
Canada's withdrawal certainly adds fuel to the fire as the IOC is already taking flak for compromising on athletes' health.?
During peacetime, no Olympic Games edition has ever been postponed or cancelled. They were not held in 1916, 1940 and 1944 due to the World Wars. ??