Guinea reverses decision to withdraw from Tokyo Olympics

Guinea’s sports ministry reversed its decision to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics Thursday and will send a delegation after all, the AP reports.

Why it matters: The reversal comes just a day after the country announced it had canceled its participation in this year’s Games as a precaution to the recent surge of COVID-19 variants.

Driving the news: Guinea was the second country, after North Korea, to pull out of the Tokyo Games because of pandemic-related concerns. The decision would have kept five athletes from competing.

• Minister of Sports Sanoussy Bantama Sow announced the withdrawal Wednesday in a letter addressed to the Guinean Olympic Committee, per AP. Guinea has competed in the Games 11 times but has yet to win a medal.

The big picture: The Tokyo Olympics had already been delayed by a year because of the emergence of the coronavirus.

• The Japanese government has been unwavering in its support of the Tokyo Games being held, despite local surges of coronavirus cases and the country's slow vaccine rollout.

What they're saying: “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,” Sow said in a statement, per AP.

Go deeper: North Korea pulls out of Olympics over COVID concerns

Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout to reflect Guinea reversed it's decision to withdraw on Thursday.