IOC President Thomas Bach (center) gestures while speaking to journalists during a visit to the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Tokyo, Japan, Nov 17, 2020. (NICOLAS DATICHE / POOL PHOTO VIA AP)

TOKYO - International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has encouraged athletes from around the world to get ready for the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games.

Get ready for these Olympic Games and train even harder ... I am looking forward to seeing you at Tokyo 2020, in Tokyo 2020 plus one.

Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee

In a video filmed at the Olympic Village during his visit to Japan last week and released on the IOC website, Bach said, "You will never ever forget these moments in the Olympic Village in all your life. And with the conditions our Japanese friends are offering here, the experience will be even more fantastic."

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"This is the place to be nine months from now. I am very happy to be able to greet you here from the Olympic Village in Tokyo," Bach added.

The IOC president, who has promised that the postponed Olympics would take place next summer, added, "Get ready for these Olympic Games and train even harder, even under these very difficult circumstances many of you, and most of you, are in at this moment. But if you look around again, I think it's worth the effort. I am looking forward to seeing you at Tokyo 2020, in Tokyo 2020 plus one."

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Bach's visit to Japan is the first since the 2020 Olympic Games was officially postponed to summer 2021 in March.