Sport

Olympic dreams on hold but Irish boxers will pick up from where they left off says IABA president Dominic O'Rourke

Brendan Irvine has qualified but Tokyo 2020 will now take place in 2021
Brendan Irvine has qualified but Tokyo 2020 will now take place in 2021 Brendan Irvine has qualified but Tokyo 2020 will now take place in 2021

THE gold medal dreams of boxer Brendan Irvine, gymnast Rhys McClenaghan, cyclists like Mark Downey, the Ireland women’s hockey squad, the equestrian squad, canoe slalom racer Liam Jegou, modern pentathlete Natalya Coyle, martial artist Jack Wooley and the Irish rowers, sailors and swimmers who have already qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have all been put on hold after the Games were postponed until next year.

The event will still be called Tokyo 2020 despite taking place in 2021 and in a joint statement made yesterday, the organisers of Tokyo 2020 and the IOC explained: “The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating.

It continued: "In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today the IOC president and the prime minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community."

Belfast boxer Irvine qualified during last week’s curtailed tournament in London and now IABA chairman Dominic O’Rourke hopes, and expects, that his place is secure for next year.

“They haven’t said exactly what is going to happen?” said O’Rourke who fully agreed with the IOC decision.

“Do the qualifications that have gone through still stand for 2021 and is Brendan Irvine still qualified? They are saying it’ll be in 2021 and they’ll still call it the 2020 Olympics so if they are doing that then anybody who has qualified at this stage will hold their spot for next year.

“I presume that the boxers who have qualified will still be recognised and that the qualification tournament will start back up at the same stage next year.”

The “unprecedented and unpredictable” COVID-19 global pandemic has seen the sporting schedule almost totally wiped out across the world. Kurt Walker and Carly McNaul lost out in the London box-offs but Michaela and Walsh, Kellie Harrington, George Bates, Aoife O’Rourke, Michael Nevin, Emmet Brennan and Dean Gardiner will all return to the fray whenever the Tokyo 2020 qualification process resumes.

“I’d ask all the boxers to bear with what is happening,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate that we’ve reached this stage but the Games will take place in 2021 and when they start that tournament back up a couple of our boxers will be one fight away from qualification. All the boxers have to do is keep a routine of training and keep themselves ticking over and be prepared for when this virus has gone and they can go back into full-time training and we’ll pick up from where we left off.

“I’d be hoping that they all qualify. I always say that when we go somewhere with a full team we expect to qualify a full team. They are good enough, they are very well trained and this is their lifetime dream.

“Kurt (Walker) didn’t make it this time but he still has a second chance in the World Championships and the others are within one or two contests of qualifying so we’re still in a good place. Hopefully when we get started back up we’ll continue where we left off.

“It’s difficult for them at the minute but I’d say to clubs to encourage their boxers to train at home. We’re hoping to post a training programme on Facebook so kids can continue to train in their own house when they can’t get to the clubs. Hopefully we’ll have something like that online in the next couple of days and be able to update it every week.”