Lausanne: The International Olympic Committee has set June 29, 2021 as the new deadline for the qualification period of the Tokyo Olympics, which has been rescheduled to next year in the wake of Covid19 pandemic.
In a communication to all National Olympic Committee (NOC) presidents, secretary generals and Chef de Missions, IOC Director of Solidarity and NOC relations, James McLeod has intimated the revised qualification principles of Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Entries deadline
According to the letter dated April 2, the revised sport entries deadline has now been set for July 5, 2021.
"The new qualification period deadline is 29 June, 2021 and the IFs (international federations) can define their own qualification period deadlines should the deadline be prior to this date," McLeod wrote.
He further said that the revision of the qualifications systems will be finalised as quickly as possible to give certainty to athletes and NOCs.
"We understand that at this time these are unlikely to include the full details now on the dates and locations of the specified events, recognising that these will follow later as the impacts of Covid19 and its related restrictions become clearer," McLeod said.
"We aim to finalise the adapted qualifications systems by mid-April, with the details on specific events to follow when available."
McLeod said that the IFs retain full discretion to define the new ranking deadline and pathway in the scenario where quota allocation was originally based on ranking.
The IOC made it clear that the NOCs reserve the right to select athletes in all cases.
"In all cases, the qualification quota places are gained by the NOC and in some cases they are gained directly by a specific athlete. In all cases as per the Olympic Charter, the respective NOC retains the right to elect athletes to represent their NOC at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020," McLeod said.
