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Ellina Mhlanga

Sports Reporter

WITH various sectors across the world feeling the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee have said they will use their quarterly board meeting to assess the effects of the pandemic.

In a normal environment, being an Olympic year, it would have been the time when National Olympic Committees and athletes would be readying for the Olympic Games.

But, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of disruption on the international sporting calendar and the Olympic Games have now been rescheduled for July 23 to August 8, 2021.

The pandemic saw international federations suspending qualifying events, leaving athletes who had not qualified, in a dilemma.

And, the Games had to be moved to protect the athletes and officials and to support the containment of the coronavirus.

ZOC have had to suspend some of their activities, including the preparations for the Games, and their chief executive, Anna Mguni, has said they will assess the effects of the pandemic next week and discuss the way forward.

“Once activities restart globally, and local regulations allow for the same, the ZOC will resume programmes, including preparations for Tokyo 2020,’’ she said.

“Much of the business underway, currently, relates to online activities including discussions, planning and training as prepared and shared by the IOC (International Olympic Committee).

“ZOC is currently reaching out to athletes through messages of solidarity shared by Olympians posted on its Facebook page. The Olympians are drawn from past Summer, Winter and Youth Olympic Games.

“The ZOC board, during their quarterly board meeting in June 2020, will assess the status of the NOC operations and effects of the pandemic on the business, and importantly deliberate on the way forward in view of the end of the Olympic four-year cycle,” said Mguni.

On a positive note, the IOC, through its Olympic Solidarity Commission, have extended the 2017-2020 programmes and budgets, which are directly linked to Olympic Games preparation and participation, to the Tokyo Games in 2021.

This is to help the NOCs deal with the unexpected situation they are facing on national level as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The programmes the IOC are looking at include:

l Olympic Scholarships for Athletes: support for athletes currently benefiting will continue but, in principle, no new scholarships will be awarded during this period.

l Team Support Grants: support will continue for teams that have qualified or those still having a verifiable chance for qualification, but no new applications to be considered.

l IOC Subsidies for NOC participation in the Olympic Games.

Most of the local athletes earmarked to qualify for the Games are still in the qualifications phase.

ZOC are pinning their hopes on athletics, swimming, judo, equestrian and golf.

Rowing secured a spot in the men’s single sculls.

The likes of sprinter Ngoni Makusha, long-distance runner Rutendo Nyahora and swimmer Peter Wetzlar are among those who got the Olympic Scholarships for the 2020 Games.

The new qualification period deadline is now June 29, 2021.

However, international federations can define their own qualification period deadlines should the deadline be prior to this date.