Olympic Athlete’s Tattoo Ruined by Postponed Games

Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have been postponed until the summer of 2021. This is the first time in history the Olympics have been canceled due to a pandemic, as World War I caused the 1916 games to be canceled and World War II canceled both the 1940 and 1944 games. The decision was announced on March 24th by Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach. This announcement will have a great impact on the athletes who were set to compete in just a few short months, particularly, on Paraguayan Long Distance runner Derlis Ayala.

Ayala qualified for the Olympics in Fall of 2019 and in honor of the upcoming 2020 games, got “Tokyo 2020” and the Olympic rings in September. However, since the games have been postponed to 2021, he’s reached out to social media for help on how to change his tattoo.

According to ESPN, the 2021 games will still be marketed as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Olympic flame is currently being stored and displayed in Fukishima. So while the Ayala will technically be participating in 2021, his tattoo will still technically be correct. But, we can’t help but think all of this could be avoided if the runner had only tattooed the rings—as those won’t be changing any time soon.

Many other Olympians have gotten tattooed with the game’s rings and their ink is representative of their success (or simply participants) at one or more Olympics. Take a look at their tattoos in the gallery below and let us know if you think Ayala should change his tattoo on social media.

Nile Wilson, Great Britain, Men’s Gymnastics, Rio 2016

Ryan Lochte, United States, Swimming, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016

Tom Daley, Great Britain, Diving, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016

Simone Biles, United States, Women’s Gymnastics, Rio 2016