Athletes should continue to prepare for competition, U.S. committee says

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee says athletes should continue to prepare for competition while taking appropriate precautions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

VIDEO SHOWS: RECENT AND FILE FOOTAGE OF TOKYO 2020 VENUES, AUDIO OF U.S. OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE CEO, SARAH HIRSHLAND TALKING ABOUT THE UPCOMING OLYMPIC GAMES, RECENT FOOTAGE OF IOC PRESIDENT, THOMAS BACH AT THE IOC HEADQUARTERS IN LAUSANNE SHOWS: TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE - JANUARY 24, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) (VIDEO UNDER AUDIO OF U.S. OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE CEO, SARAH HIRSHLAND, SPEAKING ON FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2020) 1.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE CEO, SARAH HIRSHLAND, SAYING: "We are very clearly encouraging everyone in our community to put their safety and the safety of those people in their communities, those around them first following the guidance of local health officials.

Above and beyond anything else, it is critical for us to play our role in society in doing everything we can to prevent the continued spread of this virus and to keep ourselves safe." 2.

(VIDEO UNDER AUDIO OF HIRSHLAND SPEAKING) OLYMPIC RINGS MONUMENT LIGHTING UP IN FRONT OF RAINBOW BRIDGE TO MARK SIX MONTHS TO GO UNTIL TOKYO 2020 GAMES 3.

(VIDEO UNDER AUDIO OF HIRSHLAND SPEAKING) OLYMPIC RINGS AS FIREWORKS STARTING 4.

(VIDEO UNDER AUDIO OF HIRSHLAND SPEAKING) VARIOUS OF FIREWORKS DISPLAY ABOVE OLYMPIC RINGS MONUMENT AND RAINBOW BRIDGE 5.

FIREWORKS DISPLAY ENDING TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE - DECEMBER 15, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) (VIDEO UNDER AUDIO OF U.S. OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE CEO, SARAH HIRSHLAND, SPEAKING ON FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2020) 6.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE CEO, SARAH HIRSHLAND, SAYING: "We're also asking athletes if it is available to them, in a safe environment and in an appropriate environment based on local health official guidance, to continue to do what they can to prepare themselves for competition.

We know that the training schedules of many of our athletes have been significantly disrupted and as we are having to be creative and nimble in adapting our lives, we are asking athletes to do the same but to put their safety first and foremost." 7.

OLYMPIC RINGS OUTSIDE NATIONAL STADIUM 8.

VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF NATIONAL STADIUM 9.

VARIOUS INTERIORS OF NATIONAL STADIUM 10.

WOODEN BEAMS IN STADIUM ROOF 11.

VARIOUS INTERIORS OF NATIONAL STADIUM LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (MARCH 3, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) (VIDEO UNDER AUDIO OF U.S. OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE CEO, SARAH HIRSHLAND, SPEAKING ON FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2020) 12.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE CEO, SARAH HIRSHLAND, SAYING: "The disruptions to qualifications for the games have been significant and likely will continue to be significant.

Our teams are working very hard and partner with each sport and national governing body and the athlete representatives from those sports to determine how to adapt team selection and selection criteria so we are prepared for a variety of potential outcomes.

It's very important to us and when of the fundamentals principles of our organization is athletes' righ to compete and a fair process by which they have the ability to do that and we're incredibly focused on ensuring that we protect those rights and that we protect that process as much as possible." 13.

IOC PRESIDENT THOMAS BACH ARRIVING, AND SAYING "WE ARE ALL HEALTHY AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MEETING" 14.

IOC PRESIDENT THOMAS BACH SHAKING HANDS AND SITTING DOWN AND GREETING THE DELEGATES 15.

DELEGATES AT MEETING STORY: The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said its athletes should continue to prepare for competition while taking appropriate precautions amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has cast doubt on whether the Tokyo Games could go forward.

Disruptions to qualifying events have been "significant" committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said on Friday (March 2020) adding that the group is working to adapt those events in the run-up to the Olympics.

Hirshland conceded the outbreak has caused significant disruption to qualifying events for the 2020 Olympics, which are scheduled to run from July 24-August 9.

Those disruptions she said are likely to continue.

(Production: Kurt Michael Hall)