The IOC answered some frequently asked Questions about the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
This Q&A has been designed to provide current answers to questions related to the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. It will continue to be updated in order to take into account the changing nature of the situation.
Q. What is the status of athletes serving doping violation suspensions that come to an end before the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in July 2021?
A. WADA, as the global anti-doping regulatory body, has clarified that under the current rules, doping bans are chronological and not event-specific. The IOC has tried on several occasions to introduce rules that would exclude athletes convicted of doping from the subsequent Olympic Games. This has never been allowed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Q. What is the IOC doing to protect clean athletes during this period of restricted testing?
A. A number of measures in the fight against doping have and will continue to be taken to protect clean athletes and ensure that the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the qualifying events are held in the best possible conditions.
These measures have been introduced by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) with the support of the IOC. Steps are also being taken by the IOC in association with the International Testing Agency (ITA) for the Pre-Games Testing Programme. Samples taken during pre-Games testing will be stored for 10 years so that as soon as improved testing methods become available, these samples can be retested. In addition, the Pre-Games Testing Task Force is analysing in detail which sports and athletes are most involved, and which substances are most commonly used. As soon as the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, there will be a new targeted Pre-Games Testing Programme based on this analysis, that will continue until the start of the Games. The extra time now available presents an opportunity to use and validate new testing methods.
Q. How are you going to handle the qualification process for these Games?
A. As part of the work of the “Here We Go” Task Force currently addressing the list of issues raised by the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Qualification Task Force has approved a series of amendments to the Tokyo 2020 qualification system principles. These include an extended qualification period and new deadlines:
The new qualification period deadline is 29 June 2021, and IFs can define their own qualification period deadlines should these be prior to this date.
The revised final sport entries deadline has now been set at 5 July 2021.
The revision of the qualification systems will be finalised as quickly as possible, to give certainty to the athletes and National Olympic Committees (NOCs).
It is clear that all those athletes who have qualified for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 already remain qualified. This is a consequence of the fact that these Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, in agreement with Japan, will remain the Games of the XXXII Olympiad. Some 57 per cent of qualification places have already been obtained. In some cases, a qualification quota place is obtained by the National Olympic Committee (NOC), and in some cases it is obtained directly by a specific athlete. In all cases, and as per the Olympic Charter, the respective NOC retains the right to select the athletes to represent it at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
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