Washington D.C. [USA], Mar 22 : US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that the decision to hold the 2020 Tokyo Olympics rests on the Japanese government, amid the coronavirus outbreak which has claimed over 11,500 lives globally and forced several countries, including Spain and France to order a complete or partial lockdown.
"They (Japan) have built one of the most beautiful venues I have ever seen. They are all ready to go. It's not late, not over budget, it was just done flawlessly and it is beautiful and they're sitting back and saying, you know, I told him, I said, that's your decision and it is his decision," Trump said Saturday during a press conference, as quoted by the CNN.
This remark comes hours after the US Track and Field (USATF) had called for the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as COVID-19 continues to rage.
In a letter posted on the USATF's official Twitter handle on Saturday, USATF CEO Max Siegel has urged the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) to call on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone the summer Olympic.
"Our goal remains to achieve athletic excellence during the Olympic Games, but not at the expense of the safety and well-being of our athletes," said Siegel in the letter.
"The alternative of moving forward in light of the current global situation would not be in the best interest of our athletes (as difficult as that decision might be)," he added.
Earlier this week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that there was no need for any drastic decisions on postponing the event at this stage. Tokyo also has maintained that so far, the orgzation is proceeding as scheduled.
"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," IOC had said in a statement.
The Tokyo Olympic Games are slated to be held from July 24 to August 9. However, many athletes have raised concerns over the quadrennial event taking place in the face of the spread of the deadly virus.
( With inputs from ANI )