Olympics: Tokyo Games not limited to summertime, Bach says

TOKYO, March 25 Kyodo - The Tokyo Olympics could take place earlier than the summer of 2021, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said Wednesday. A day after announcing the decision to postpone this year's Olympics due to the new coronavirus pandemic, Bach told reporters by conference call that other options beside the traditional summer months "were on the table" as the planning moves forward. The IOC chief said a task force has been established between the Olympic coordinating commission and the organizing committee to iron out a massive volume of issues. The process, he said, will start on Thursday in a conference call with national Olympic committees and the 33 international sports federations taking part. "After consulting with them, we also have to take into account the sports calendar around the Olympic Games," he said. While he praised the professionalism of the task force members now involved in reshaping the Tokyo Olympics for next year, he said he did not envy them. "Everything has to come together and everything is important. I'm really confident that we can also master this first ever challenge," Bach said. "Games have never been postponed before. We have no blueprint. But I am confident we can put a beautiful jigsaw puzzle together and have a wonderful Olympic Games," he said. Asked if the games might be further postponed if the global health crisis remained an issue, Bach said, "We have established the principle that we will be following: We will organize the games only in a safe environment for all the participants." ==Kyodo