Tokyo Olympics: COVID-19, no fans and questions for the IOC

The
buildup
to
this
year’s
Olympic
Games
was
filled
with
uncertainty,
and
it
was
no
different
for
journalists
like
me
traveling
to
Japan.
Would
we
be
able
to
move
around
the
city?
To
talk
to
people?
Would
we
even
be
able
to
get
into
the
events
themselves?

Before
we
even
got
that
far,
there
was
a
series
of
Tokyo
2020
systems
and
apps
to
navigate,
about
half
of
which
actually
seemed
to
work.
The
fear
of
getting
turned
back
at
the
airport
over
an
unchecked
box
felt
terrifyingly
real
in
the
weeks
before
departure.

So
when
my
doctor
asked
the
question
as
he
was
giving
me
my
COVID-19
vaccine,
I
didn’t
know
what
to
say.
On
top
of
the
pragmatic
issues,
some
even
more
basic
dilemmas
had
been
swirling
around
my
head.
Should
I
even
be
going
to
Tokyo
when
the
locals
will
be
shut
out?
Should
the
Games
be
taking
place
at
all?

Most
of
the
restrictions
were
overcome
—
some
relatively
easily,
others
with
a
fair
degree
of
difficulty
and
a
scarcely
believable
quantity
of
deodorant.
But
it
is
perhaps
unsatisfying
to
say
that
I
still
don’t
have
a
firm
answer
to
those
last
questions.

The
role
COVID-19
played
during
the
Olympics

Coronavirus
case
numbers
exploded
here
during
the
Games,
reaching
record
levels
in
Tokyo
since
the
Olympics
got
underway.
But
the
relatively
low
number
of
cases
among
people
involved
in
the
Olympics,
and
the
fact
that
cases
started
rising
rapidly
before
most
of
us
had
arrived
in
Tokyo,
suggests
that
has
more
to
do
with
the
Delta
variant
than
the
influx
of
foreigners.

The
ban
on
spectators
is
a
travesty
that
truly
eats
away
at
the
soul
of
the
Games,
and
laying
eyes
on
the
empty
fan
park
still
standing
next
to
Tokyo
Bay
is
a
brutal
reminder
of
that.
But,
in
this
case,
disappointing
hundreds
of
thousands
of
locals
with
tickets
meant
giving
joy
to
hundreds
of
millions
of
viewers
around
the
world.

Athletes
who
trained
their
whole
lives
for
this
moment
but
then
tested
positive
for
COVID
have
been
locked
up
heartlessly.
Others,
though
have
been
able
to
fulfill
their
dreams,
some
with
their
very
last
chance
at
Olympic
glory.
Seeing
intense
euphoria
and
acute
physical
pain
simultaneously
etched
into
the
faces
of
American
swimmer
Caeleb
Dressel,
British
BMX
cyclist
Bethany
Shriever
and
Ugandan
steeplechase
runner
Peruth
Chemutai
in
the
flesh
and
knowing
that
thousands
of
hours
of
grinding
away
just
paid
off
for
them,
perhaps
changes
one’s
perspective.

The
Japanese
people
themselves
are
also
conflicted
on
the
issue
of
the
Games.
At
the
opening
ceremony,
I
could
hear
the
demonstrators
outside
railing
against
the
organizers
who
showed
them
so
little
respect.
I’ve
walked
through
protests
to
get
into
the
Olympic
Stadium
in
the
last
few
days,
and
seen
banners
with
slogans
like,
“Stop
playing
Games!
Save
lives,
not
the
Olympics!”
while
others
tell
IOC
President
Thomas
Bach,
in
no
uncertain
terms,
to
get
out
of
Japan.

This
is
happening
about
50m
away
from
where
people
(Japanese
and
some
foreigners)
are
queueing
to
get
a
photo
with
the
Olympic
rings

#Tokyo2020
pic.twitter.com/JdR6exW4Ym

—
Oliver
Moody
(@olimoody)

August
5,
2021

This
shows
unmistakably
that
the
anger
has
not
subsided.
But
I’ve
also
seen
people
lining
up
for
photos
with
the
rings,
not
50
meters
away
from
the
protests.
I’ve
seen
crowds
form
on
a
bridge
as
people
tried
to
get
a
good
view
of
the
BMX
events.
I’ve
seen
people
wearing
Team
Japan
replica
shirts
all
over
town.
They
are
all
still
part
of
the
spectacle,
even
if
they’re
not
allowed
to
spectate.

Just
before
the
start
of
the
Games,
I
spoke
to
a
pair
of
tour
guides,
who
gave
me
almost
identical
quotes.
“The
Olympics
should
have
been
canceled
because
of
the
pandemic,”
they
agreed.
“Now
that
it’s
happening,
though,
I’ll
probably
watch
some
of
it.”

If
any
of
this
sounds
inconsistent,
even
hypocritical,
ask
yourself
what
any
normal
person
is
supposed
to
do
in
these
circumstances.

Questions
asked
of
IOC,
Japanese
government

What
is
clear
is
that
none
of
these
things
have
been
treated
with
the
gravity
they
deserve
by
the
powers
that
be.
The
IOC
makes
grand
claims
of
bringing
the
world
together
and
giving
athletes
their
big
moments,
but
the
truth
of
the
matter
is
that
hosting
the
Tokyo
Olympics
in
spite
of
everything
is
an
act
of
protecting
revenues.
The
vast
majority
of
the
IOC’s
income
stems
from
broadcast
and
sponsorship
deals
associated
with
the
Summer
and
Winter
Games.
That’s
why
we’re
all
here.

The
Japanese
government
meanwhile,
staring
down
the
barrel
of
billions
in
wasted
investment
and
further
bills
to
come
in
the
event
of
cancellation,
instead
followed
the
gambling
addict’s
logic
that
eventually
their
luck
just
had
to
change.
To
an
extent,
it
has.

As
increasingly
seems
to
be
the
case
with
the
Olympics,
the
unpalatable
realities
behind
the
scenes
are
countered
by
the
brilliance
of
the
performances
and
the
compelling
stories
of
previously
unknown
athletes
who
shoot
to
stardom
over
16
breathless
days.
For
a
couple
of
weeks,
we
can
intermittently
forget
how
inherently
wrong
the
direction
the
Olympic
movement
is
heading
in
feels
these
days.
No
doubt
the
host
nation’s
record-shattering
performance
in
the
medal
table
has
helped
the
locals
focus
on
the
positives.

But
the
gap
between
perceptions
of
athletes
and
authorities
grows
ever
larger.
That
was
made
abundantly
clear
by
the
IOC’s
lumbering,
reluctant
response
to
the
case
of
sprinter
Krystsina
Tsimanouskaya,
who
was
kicked
out
of
Belarus’ Olympic
team
for
refusing
to
compete
in
the
4×400-meter
relay.

And
already
they’re
having
to
bat
away
questions
about
Winter
Olympics
in
Beijing,
which
start
in
just
six
months.
They
have
already
been
dubbed
“The
Genocide
Games”
due
to
the
Chinese
government’s
treatment
of
its
Uighur
population.
Tokyo
can
almost
breathe
a
sigh
of
relief,
but
scrutiny
of
the
IOC
is
likely
to
ramp
up
even
further
in
the
coming
months.

If
one
moment
sums
up
the
Tokyo
Olympics,
it
was
a
scene
immediately
after
the
women’s
park
skateboarding
final.
We
had
just
witnessed
an
astonishing
performance
from
a
group
of
mostly
teenaged
athletes
who,
on
top
of
their
phenomenal
skills,
displayed
compassion,
togetherness
and
a
joie
de
vivre
that
is
often
lacking
in
the
seriously
competitive
forum
of
the
Games.
They
were
supremely
talented,
genuine,
and
fun.

And
right
there
at
the
bottom
of
the
press
tribune,
posing
for
photos
and
basking
in
their
reflected
glory,
was
Thomas
Bach.
The
man
who
externally
speaks
almost
exclusively
in
platitudes
but
internally
demands
fierce
loyalty
from
his
IOC
subjects.
The
man
currently
leading
the
organisation’s
drive
for
more
profits
and
less
humanity.
These
are
the
two
sides
of
the
Olympic
coin.

Source:

DW