Athletes react to new dates for Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Katinka Hosszu, Alise Willoughby, and others react as 23 July–8 August 2021 are announced as the new dates for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Olympic champion swimmer Katinka Hosszu posted a photo of herself smiling, saying as an athlete she felt "lucky … in this unlucky situation" to now know the dates of the Games and have a full year to prepare.
American BMX racer and Olympic silver medallist Alise Post-Willoughby was among the first to react, posting a smiling emoji on social media while sending "smiles and gratitude" to her sponsors and family.
Annnnnd we have a date!😄 tokyo2020 will take place 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟯-𝗔𝘂𝗴 𝟴, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭. Sending smiles and gratitude out to the amazing people and #partners on this journey with me... we will get through this♥️ #staysafe… https://t.co/1wqyeXLFVF
— Alise (Post) Willoughby (@alisepost11) March 30, 2020
Mexican diver Rommel Pacheco reminded his followers to "stay home, maintain ourselves, and end the emergency to continue preparing ourselves", adding that "I insist today the most important thing is everyone's health".
Ya hay fecha para los Juegos Olímpicos, ahora es momento de quedarnos en casa, mantenernos y terminando la contingencia a seguir preparándonos #Tokio2020
— Rommel Pacheco (@Rommel_Pacheco) March 30, 2020
Hoy lo más importante insisto es la salud de tod@s 🙏 pic.twitter.com/DlXEMXOnst
British gymnast Becky Downie, who is retiring after the Games, said she was "ready for the final chapter".
16 more months it is. Grateful to have the opportunity to try and continue doing what I love for another year.
— Becky Downie (@Bdownie) March 30, 2020
23/7/2021 ➖ 08/08/2021 🇯🇵 Ready for the final chapter 😭 pic.twitter.com/Suncurza89
Team USA are ready for the rescheduled Games, too, posting a series of photos of their Olympians with the new start date.
07.23.21 #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/on7kvPkcOf
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) March 30, 2020
Also ready for the new dates are the next hosts of the Olympic Games after Tokyo. Paris 2024 say: "count on us, we will be there".
📅 Les Jeux Olympiques de @Tokyo2020 sont décalés du 23 juillet au 8 août 2021 et les Jeux Paralympiques du 24 août au 5 septembre 2021.
— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) March 30, 2020
Le rendez-vous est pris, comptez sur nous on sera là 👊 pic.twitter.com/G6TFhPd8JX
And USA Basketball are ready to defend their titles.