As it is, the coronavirus pandemic has already had a significant effect on most, if not all competitive sports leagues throughout the world. Right now, it's the Tokyo Summer Olympics that appears to be in danger of being canceled altogether, as the dreaded COVID-19 continues to spread at a rapid rate.

According to Richard Lloyd Parry of The Times, the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics has now become inevitable:

The Japanese government has privately concluded that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus, and the focus is now on securing the Games for the city in the next available year, 2032.

According to a senior member of the ruling coalition, there is agreement that the Games, already postponed a year, are doomed. The aim now is to find a face-saving way of announcing the cancellation that leaves open the possibility of Tokyo playing host at a later date. “No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it’s too difficult,” the source said. “Personally, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

The Olympics was originally slated to kick off on July 23, 2020. The Japanese government opted to postpone the Games by a full year — and rightfully so — setting the new start date to July 24, 2021. With the risk brought about by the coronavirus still imminent, it now appears that officials are no longer looking to postpone the Olympics but to just cancel it altogether.

It is worth noting that since being established in 1896, the Olympics has been canceled three times in the past. The first instance was in 1916 during World War I, with the other two being in 1940 and 1944 in the wake of World War II.

As it states in the report, Japan is looking to make a bid for the next available year for the Olympics, which is currently in 2032 — more than a decade from now. Paris is set to host the 2024 Olympics, while the 2028 Games are slated to take place in Los Angeles.