Claude Onesta is the high-performance director for the National Sports Agency ©Getty Images

The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics should be a "springboard" for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, according to the high-performance manager of the National Sports Agency in France.

Claude Onesta told L'Est Républicain that Tokyo 2020, delayed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, was "no longer a goal in its own right".

"I consider that Tokyo has entered the cycle of preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris," Onesta, who coached the French men's handball team to two Olympic gold medals, said in an interview with the regional newspaper.

"In our opinion, this stage of Tokyo, for many athletes, must at all costs constitute a springboard for Paris. 

"Federations and national technical teams must have this vision."

Paris 2024 has admitted the coronavirus pandemic will impact preparations for the Games ©Getty Images
Paris 2024 has admitted the coronavirus pandemic will impact preparations for the Games ©Getty Images

Onesta added: "The message is: we don't prepare Tokyo for everything to stop afterwards.

"We are preparing Tokyo in the Paris preparation movement, which is the maximum objective of French sport."

Organisers of the 2024 Olympic Games have admitted the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have an impact on preparations for the event in the French capital.

Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet said last month that organisers will now "review all our planning" as all eyes will still be on Tokyo in the latter half of this year and at least the start of 2021.