國際奧委會委員： 東京奧運會能否如期舉行5月見分曉

鑑於新冠肺炎疫情擴大，國際奧委會委員迪克•龐德表示，組織者更有可能取消東京奧運會，而不是推遲或換地方。東京奧運會或將成爲首屆因疫情而被取消的現代奧運會。

A senior member of the International Olympic Committee said Tuesday that if it proves too dangerous to hold the Olympics in Tokyo this summer because of the coronavirus outbreak, organizers are more likely to cancel it altogether than to postpone or move it.

國際奧委會的一位高級委員本週二（2月25日）稱，如果由於新冠肺炎疫情的暴發，今年夏季舉辦東京奧運會太危險的話，組織者更有可能將其取消，而不是推遲或換地方。

Dick Pound, a former Canadian swimming champion who has been on the IOC since 1978, making him its longest-serving member, estimated there is a three-month window — perhaps a two-month one — to decide the fate of the Tokyo Olympics, meaning a decision could be put off until late May.

加拿大前游泳冠軍迪克•龐德自1978年以來一直擔任國際奧委會委員，是國際奧委會任期最長的委員。龐德估計，決定東京奧運會命運的時間範圍是兩個月或三個月，這意味着可以推遲到五月下旬再做決定。

“In and around that time, I’d say folks are going to have to ask: ‘Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?’” he said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.

龐德在接受美聯社專訪時說：“在那段時間前後，人們就會問：‘疫情是否受到足夠的控制，我們是否有信心去東京？’”

As the games draw near, he said, “a lot of things have to start happening. You’ve got to start ramping up your security, your food, the Olympic Village, the hotels. The media folks will be in there building their studios.”

他說，隨着比賽的臨近，“很多事情要着手準備。必須開始加強安保，注重食物，準備好奧運村和酒店。媒體工作者還要到現場建立工作室。”

ramp up：鞏固，增加

If the IOC decides the games cannot go forward as scheduled in Tokyo, “you’re probably looking at a cancellation,” he said.

他說，如果國際奧委會決定，東京奧運會不能如期舉行，那“很可能會取消”。

Pound encouraged athletes to keep training. About 11,000 are expected for the Olympics, which open July 24, and 4,400 are bound for the Paralympics, which open Aug 25.

龐德鼓勵運動員們繼續訓練。東京奧運會將於7月24日開幕，大約1.1萬人參加。4400人將參加8月25日開幕的殘奧會。

“As far as we all know, you’re going to be in Tokyo,” Pound said. “All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual.”

龐德說：“據我們目前所知，東京奧運會將如期舉行。目前所有跡象都表明，一切將照常進行。”

The modern Olympics, which date to 1896, have been canceled only during wartime. The Olympics in 1940 were supposed to be in Tokyo but were called off because of World War II. The Rio Games in Brazil went on as scheduled in 2016 despite the outbreak of the Zika virus.

現代奧運會自1896年開始舉行，只有在戰時曾被取消。1940年的奧運會原計劃在東京舉行，但由於第二次世界大戰取消了。2016年儘管寨卡病毒暴發，但巴西里約熱內盧奧運會仍如期舉行。

Pound repeated the IOC’s stance — that it is relying on consultations with the World Health Organization, a United Nations body, to make any move.

龐德重申了國際奧委會的立場：將基於與聯合國下屬機構世界衛生組織的磋商做出決定。

As for the possibility of postponement, he said: “You just don’t postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics. You can’t just say, `We’ll do it in October.’”

至於推遲的可能性，他說：“奧運會這樣規模的活動，是不能推遲的。不可能簡單地說，‘我們將在10月份舉辦奧運會。”

Pound said moving to another city also seems unlikely “because there are few places in the world that could think of gearing up facilities in that short time to put something on.”

龐德說，換城市舉辦似乎也不太可能，“因爲世界上很少有地方能在這麼短的時間內加快設施建設，以便讓賽事順利舉行。”

London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has suggested the British capital as an alternative. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike suggested the offer was an attempt to use the virus for political purposes.

倫敦市長候選人肖恩·貝利建議將倫敦作爲備選地。東京都知事小池百合子表示，這一提議是企圖利用疫情達到政治目的。

Pound said he would not favor a scattering of Olympic events to other places around the world because that wouldn’t “constitute an Olympic Games. You’d end up with a series of world championships.” He also said it would be extremely difficult to spread around the various sports over a 17-day period with only a few months’ notice.

龐德表示，他不贊成將奧運賽事分散到世界各地舉行，因爲“那將不能稱之爲奧運會，最後只能辦成一系列世界錦標賽”。他還表示，奧運會籌備期只剩短短几個月時間，要把17天內的各種賽事分散到世界各地極其困難。

Holding the Olympics in Tokyo but postponing them by a few months would be unlikely to satisfy North American broadcasters, whose schedules are full in the fall with American pro football, college football, European soccer, basketball, baseball and ice hockey. Other world broadcasters also have jammed schedules.

推遲數月舉辦東京奧運會也可能讓北美的廣播公司不滿，這些公司的秋季節目單已被美國職業橄欖球、大學橄欖球、歐洲足球、籃球、棒球和冰球比賽排滿。其他國家的廣播公司的節目單也早已排滿。

“It would be tough to get the kind of blanket coverage that people expect around the Olympic Games,” Pound said.

龐德說，“人們很難看到所期待的奧運會全面報道。”

He also cast doubt on the possibility of a one-year delay. Japan is officially spending $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics, although a national audit board says the country is spending twice that much.

他還對推遲一年舉辦的可能性表示懷疑。日本官方花費126億美元（約合人民幣883億元）來組承辦運會，儘管一個國家審計委員會說日本的實際花費是這個數字的兩倍。

Pound said the IOC has been building up an emergency fund, reported to be about $1 billion, for unforeseen circumstances to help the IOC and the international sports federations that depend on income from the IOC. About 73% of the IOC’s $5.7 billion income in a four-year Olympic cycle comes from broadcast rights.

龐德說，國際奧委會已經建立了一項應急基金，據報道大約有10億美元，以應對突發情況，幫助國際奧委會和依賴國際奧委會收入的國際單項聯合會。國際奧委會在四年的奧運週期中收入爲57億美元，其中約有73%來自轉播權。

Pound said the future of the Tokyo Games is largely out of the IOC’s hands and depends on the course the virus takes.

龐德說，東京奧運會能否如期舉辦不在國際奧委會的掌控之中，而是取決於疫情進展。

對此，日本官房長官菅義偉26日作出迴應，稱並未從東京奧組委聽到關於日程變化的消息，東京奧運會的準備工作正在按計劃推進。

A spokesman for the Japanese government on Wednesday said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and local organizers are going as planned with the Tokyo Olympics.

日本政府發言人官房長官菅義偉26日稱國際奧委會和東京奧組委正在按計劃推進東京奧運會的準備工作。

菅義偉26日在例行記者會上表示，龐德的觀點並不是國際奧委會的官方主張。

“With regard to this member’s comment, the IOC has responded that this is not their official position, and that IOC is proceeding with preparations toward the games as scheduled,” Suga said, speaking in Japanese at his daily news conference.

菅義偉在例行記者會上表示：“關於這位國際奧委會委員的觀點，國際奧委會迴應稱，這並不是該組織的官方主張，國際奧委會正按照計劃繼續推進奧運會的準備工作。”

日本奧運擔當大臣橋本聖子26日也表示國際奧委會正按計劃推進東京奧運會：

"The IOC is preparing for the Tokyo Games as scheduled," Minister Seiko Hashimoto said in parliament when asked about Pound's comment. "We will continue our preparations so that the IOC can make sound decisions."

橋本聖子在國會對龐德的言論作出迴應，“國際奧委會正在按計劃準備東京奧運會，我們會繼續我們的籌備工作，讓國際奧委會屆時作出明智的決定。”

此外，東京奧組委表示，爲了舉辦安心安全的奧運會，新冠肺炎的對策十分重要。

東京奧組委將繼續關注新冠肺炎的整體情況，研究必要的對策。