By Will Huff
STARKVILLE, Miss. (Take 30 News)--The Olympics is a global sporting event, unparalleled in its magnitude. Host nations prepare for years to host the games and athletes, such as Mississippi State and USA javelin thrower Curtis Thompson, have been working their entire lives for a chance to represent their country on the biggest stage in the world.
"It's just a blessing. It's an honor.” Said Thompson about representing his country. “It's just one of those things that as an athlete you think of or you dream of and that be your goal to compete and put on a USA uniform. Every time you get a chance to put on the USA it's a complete blessing that I would never regret or take advantage of."
But the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo may be under threat because of the Coronavirus. The virus is spreading world-wide and has infested 26 countries including the United States and the host country of Japan. Japans neighboring country, China, has had over 40 thousand confirmed cases of corona virus and Japan itself has had 26. With all of the panic surrounding the upcoming Olympic games you would expect Athletes to be nervous about going. However, Thompson says that's not going to stop him from representing his country in the event that he loves.
"I believe they will have the best protocol to make it a safe environment.” Thompson said. “I believe that if it's not safe enough for the competition that I guess they'll figure out some way to, hopefully, if they postpone it or relocate. It wouldn't, necessarily, stop me from going out there."
The Olympic committee is very concerned with the Corona outbreak. They are working with the IPC, IOC, the Japanese government, and the Tokyo government to quote "tackle the issues". The committee has already moved several qualifying events due to the outbreak including the boxing and women's soccer qualifiers. The 2016 Olympics in Brazil faced similar fears over the Zika virus, transmitted by mosquito. Several notable athletes decided not to compete that year. The Opening Ceremony for this year's games is scheduled for Friday, July 24th.