Joint statement from the IOC and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee

The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Abe Shinzo, held a conference call this morning to discuss the constantly changing environment with regard to Covid-19 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

They were joined by Mori Yoshiro, the President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee; the Olympic Minister, Hashimoto Seiko; the Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko; the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, John Coates; IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper; and the IOC Olympic Games Executive Director, Christophe Dubi.

President Bach and Prime Minister Abe expressed their shared concern about the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and what it is doing to people’s lives and the significant impact it is having on global athletes’ preparations for the Games. In a very friendly and constructive meeting, the two leaders praised the work of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and noted the great progress being made in Japan to fight against COVID-19.

The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating. Yesterday, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is “accelerating”. There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.

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.

The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present. Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The IRONMAN Group Launches IRONMAN VR – A New Global Racing Series – and The IRONMAN VR Pro Challenge

IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series and IRONMAN Virtual Club will allow athletes to train, compete and stay connected with the close-knit athlete community around the world

The IRONMAN Group, a Wanda Sports Group company (Nasdaq: WSG), announced that it will add the IRONMAN® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series to its portfolio, including the IRONMAN VR Pro Challenge that will debut on April 4 through the IRONMAN Now Page on Facebook Watch. The IRONMAN VR Series will be offered through the soon to be launched IRONMAN Virtual Club™, a web-based platform allowing athletes to train and compete from anywhere around the world at any time through the IRONMAN VR Series of weekly races and challenges.

“At the IRONMAN Group, our mission is to provide exceptional, life-changing race experiences for athletes of all levels from their first step to the finish line,” says Andrew Messick, President & CEO for The IRONMAN Group. “We believe that under extraordinary circumstances such as these, athletes should be able to maintain the structure and continuity that training and competition provides. The IRONMAN Virtual Club is an innovative digital platform that enables our athletes to continue training with purpose, remain connected to our community and provides an opportunity to compete through the IRONMAN VR Series.”

Athletes will compete in the traditional age-group categories and for select virtual races, will have the opportunity to earn qualifying slots to the 2020 IRONMAN®70.3® World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand scheduled to take place on November 28 and 29, 2020. Virtual races will begin on Fridays at 6 p.m. GMT and close Sundays at midnight GMT with the first competitive race, IRONMAN VR1, debuting on April 3. The format and distances may vary each race weekend. In order to be eligible for world championship slots, athletes will need to compete with devices providing GPS and heart rate data which will be uploaded to the IRONMAN Virtual Club platform. The IRONMAN Virtual Club platform will be compatible with most wearable technology and app trackers. Upon completion of a race, athletes will receive a finisher package including the collectible IRONMAN VR medal and finisher tees for that race. The IRONMAN Virtual Club will additionally provide an activity-based loyalty point system designed to motivate athletes as they train and reward them through merchandise, discounts and “money can’t buy” benefits.

During each weekend of competition, there will also be a Men’s and Women’s IRONMAN VR Pro Challenge. Two professional female athletes will compete on Saturday and two professional male athletes will compete on Sunday for prize money. Anyone around the world will be able to tune-in to the head-to-head battles through the IRONMAN Now Page on Facebook Watch. The coverage will also follow the competing age-group athletes through User-Generated Content shared on the interactive platform, allowing athletes to see how they match up against fellow competitors through live look-ins and leaderboard updates. Additionally, every Monday at 6 p.m. following the race weekend, the IRONMAN VR Rolldown Show will provide the best action from the weekend and an interactive live awarding of the 2020 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship qualifying slots. During the live coverage, the IRONMAN Foundation will also run Facebook fundraisers to provide support for our traditional host communities.