Guinea’s Government Overturns Decision- Finally Allows its Athletes to Take Part in the Tokyo Olympics 2020

Just a few days ago, the West African country of Guinea pulled out of the Tokyo  Olympics 2020. In a statement to its national Olympic Committee, the sports minister confirmed this decision, citing a rise in COVID-19 and its variants. 

The sports minister Samoussy Bantama Sow said they made the decision to protect the health of its athletes. This sparked an immediate reaction from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 

They sent a letter to the country’s Olympic authorities saying they were extremely surprised by the last-minute decision.

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The giant Olympic rings are seen through a tree in the dusk at the waterfront area of Odaiba Marine Park, before the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games that have been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan July 8, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Guinea overturns the decision 

The sports minister Sow made the announcement on the 22nd. The country finally decided to overturn its previous decision of not sending its athletes. This move had received a lot of national and international flak.

Pressure from national and international organizations, the IOC, and media organizations prompted the country to reverse its decision. 

“The Minister of State, Minister of Sports has the true pleasure of informing the people of Guinea and the whole sports family, that the government, after obtaining guarantees from the health authorities, agrees to the participation of our athletes in the 32nd Olympics in Tokyo,” the minister said in a statement.

Sow also said in the statement that Guinea had agreed to send their athletes to compete after receiving guarantees from the health authorities.

Tokyo Olympics 2020 athletes affected by this decision

The five athletes are female 100 metres runner Aissata Deen Conte, wrestler Fatoumata Yarie Camara, judoka Mamadou Samba Bah, and swimmers Mamadou Tahirou Bah and Fatoumata Lamarana Touré.

All these athletes were very surprised at the earlier decision of their government. Many of them questioned why their country decided to make this last-minute call on account of COVID-19 when the host country itself did not cancel it. 

After hearing the latest development, in this case, the athletes are ecstatic at the prospect of getting the opportunity to perform at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

They had practiced for months leading up to this tournament. Now they will be able to compete for their country. Guinea has taken part in the Olympics eleven times but never won a medal. North Korea is now the only country to pull out of the Olympics citing COVID-19 reasons.

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