The insidethegames.biz Magazine Tokyo Edition 2021 by Dunsar Media Company Limited

The insidethegames.biz Magazine The world’s leading source of independent news and information about the Olympic Movement.

Tokyo Edition 2021

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Contents

Published: July 2021 by Dunsar Media Company Limited Editor: Duncan Mackay Magazine Editor: Dan Palmer Managing Director: Sarah Bowron

The “safe” pair of hands

Introduction

Duncan Mackay Duncan Mackay

The Tokyo Roller Coaster Mike Rowbottom

Design: Elliot Willis Willis Design Associates

I’m the boss - The IF Presidents look forward to Tokyo 2020

Pictures: Getty Images

All eyes on... the new five

Staff headshots: Karen Kodish

Michael Houston

Print: www.csfprint.com

Fields of dreams

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Michael Pavitt

18 32 36

Previously, on the Tokyo Olympics…

Working to change Japan

Swimming at the top table

Philip Barker

Geoff Berkeley Liam Morgan

Mixing it up

Mike Rowbottom

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STAY

SAFE The Covid-19 outbreak has left the sporting event industry, together with the rest of the world, in lockdown. It is a very challenging time for our industry as a whole and for you as our friends and international partners. We look forward to collaborating with you on the other side. Till then, stay safe!

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hen Jacques Rogge perched against a white rostrum, slowly opened an envelope and announced Tokyo as the host of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, few could have anticipated the chaos which was to come. Confirmation of the Japanese victory by the former International Olympic Committee President was the cue for scenes of jubilation at the Buenos Aires Hilton. It was vindication for Tokyo’s pitch to host the 2020 Games as a symbol of recovery, following the devastation of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Shinzō Abe, then the Japanese Prime Minister, had flown in personally to ease the fears of IOC members who were jittery about the nuclear power plant in Fukushima which melted down during the natural disaster. Abe settled their anxiety and was rewarded with a prize that would give a largely excited population something to aim for as the country worked to rebuild. That was how it was supposed to be, at least. For those in the Tokyo 2020 delegation, that winning day in the Argentine capital back in 2013 must feel like another lifetime ago. Some must surely wish they could go back to the celebrations in the Hilton bar that evening, in the hope events would take a different course. Tokyo 2020 could still be a Games of recovery but for a very different reason. We are, of course, poised for the Olympics and Paralympics a full year later than we should have been because of the coronavirus pandemic. When the Games were delayed in March 2020, the sporting world crossed its fingers and believed that things would be back to normal in 16 months’ time. It is true that COVID-19 is not devastating large parts of the globe as it

once was, but in certain areas the virus is still rampant and the increasing rollout of vaccines has not been able to subdue it yet. Tokyo 2020 will go ahead against a backdrop of noisy opposition in Japan, from a public understandably scared that the influx of thousands of foreign visitors will push back the country’s fight against the pandemic. The IOC has desperately tried to calm fears but for many these words will fall on deaf ears. When the sport starts, everyone in Japan - athletes, officials, media and others - will have to accept that in the eyes of plenty of locals they will not be welcome. Before the pandemic took hold, Tokyo 2020 was already battling against allegations of corruption, suspicious payments and vote-buying - all connected to the ballot in Buenos Aires. Wrongdoing has been repeatedly denied but the claims could not be more serious. If it was not for the unprecedented delay of the Olympics by a year, and all the spin-off stories this has created, then the alleged dark dealings would surely be much more of a distraction. In this latest edition of The insidethegames. biz Magazine, we look ahead to Tokyo 2020 with the Games now finally upon us. I tell the story of the rocky road organisers have faced, as the dream of Buenos Aires quickly turned into a COVID-fuelled nightmare. Chief feature writer Mike Rowbottom asks how athletes have geared up for these Games, with their usual preparations flipped upside down by months of uncertainty. Marnie McBean, the Canadian Chef de Mission, has compared the build-up to a “roller-coaster” and that certainly seems like an apt description. Each sport has faced its own challenges leading into Tokyo, so we have spoken to the Presidents of the existing 28 International Federations on the Olympic programme to hear their thoughts before a Games which will be like no other. The 28 will be joined in Japan by five additional sports - baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing. Junior reporter Michael Houston runs the rule over the new recruits, which will take to the grandest stage in far different circumstances than they were expecting.

Tokyo 2020 will utilise a number of venues but the action will take place in front of far fewer people than originally anticipated. Senior reporter Michael Pavitt takes us through where Olympians and Paralympians will be going for gold over the coming weeks. The Japanese capital has hosted the Olympics before and strong parallels can be drawn from the 1964 Games. Back then, recovery was also a theme as the hosts aimed to bounce back from the international isolationism caused by the Second World War. Philip Barker delves into the history books to tell the story of an event which took place in a very different Japan. Staff at the International Paralympic Committee will be hoping that Japan changes again after Tokyo 2020 has been and gone. This year’s Paralympics are seen as a key chance to alter the perception of people with disabilities for the better, and leave a lasting legacy. Senior reporter Geoff Berkeley reports on a goal which is more important than any found on the field of play. At the end of the Olympics, Kirsty Coventry’s term as chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission will come to a close, but the Zimbabwean swimmer’s spell in sports governance will be far from over. Chief senior reporter Liam Morgan talks to the two-time Olympic gold medallist who many have tipped for big things at the IOC - including a possible bid for the very top job. These articles have again been produced by our award-winning team, who will provide unrivalled coverage of Tokyo 2020. Once the Games are finally in the history books, we will continue to cover the most important sports stories which matter the most. Enjoy the magazine.

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THE “SAFE” PAIR OF HANDS Tokyo 2020 was supposed to be a beacon of hope after the tragedy of natural disaster in Japan but a rocky road to recovery has seen that dream turn into a nightmare. Duncan Mackay tells the story of a cursed project.

he joy that erupted in Tokyo on September 7 in 2013 when it was announced more than 11,000 miles away that the Japanese capital had won its bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games has long since evaporated. With opinion polls consistently demonstrating that the public do not want Tokyo hosting the Olympics as the country struggles to recover from the impact of COVID-19, amid fears that inviting 11,500 athletes from more than 200 countries will cause a “super spreader” event, it is easy to forget that these were supposed to be “The Recovery Games” even before the pandemic. Japan sits in one of the most earthquake-prone areas in the world. Located along an extremely active segment of the “Ring of Fire”, it is rocked by more than 1,500 earthquakes a year. Anyone who has been to Japan regularly will probably have experienced the terror of receiving an alert on their mobile phone, followed a few moments later by the walls of the building they are in shaking. Most earthquakes last only a few seconds and everyone seems to quickly return to what they are doing. But, on March 11 in 2011, the Pacific Plate jerked downward and the North American Plate clicked upward. The Richter scale gave it a

9.1 - a jolt big enough to tilt the earth's axis. Honshu, Japan's main island, grew by three feet in an hour. The United States Geological Survey estimated that the shifting plates released enough energy to power Los Angeles for a year. What would become known as the Great East Japanese Earthquake triggered a tsunami that hit the unprepared TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant located only 140 miles north of Tokyo. The ensuing mayhem caused more than 20,000 deaths and displaced 164,000 to 185,000 people. Only four months later it was announced that Tokyo would bid again for the Olympic and Paralympic Games having unsuccessfully tried to stage the 2016 event which was awarded to Rio de Janeiro. “We have a responsibility and an obligation to meet the expectations placed upon us,” Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda claimed. “We must bring the Olympics back to Japan.” How the Olympics could help Japan recover from the disaster quickly became the central storyline of the bid campaign, even as scientists warned it would be years before the contaminated area would be fully safe from radiation.

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Tokyo hoped to use the Olympics to rebuild after the tragedy of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Photo: Getty Images

Tokyo’s candidature file made it clear they believed staging the Olympics was just the kind of boost the Japanese public wanted after the earthquake. “The earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 deeply affected the Japanese people, and we are in need of a dream we can share that will strengthen our solidarity,” then Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose wrote. “A dream can give us strength, and with strength we can build a future.” Takeda doubled down on that message in a letter accompanying the candidature file. “Over many years, Japan has understood the unique power of sport and witnessed its ability to inspire and unite,” he wrote. “Today, when thousands in the north-east of our country continue to recover from the disaster of March 2011, we understand that power even more.” There is nothing that excites the International Olympic Committee more than the prospect of putting the Games at the centre of a country’s hopes and ambitions. Tokyo had last staged the Olympic Games in 1964 when it helped Japan rise from the ashes of World War Two. Now, more than half a century later, the Olympics could be Japan’s saviour again. The capital beat rivals Madrid and Istanbul by pitching its bid as “a safe pair of hands” for the IOC, after a two-round vote in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires. Istanbul was defeated by 60 votes to 36 in round two after Tokyo narrowly failed to secure enough votes to win at the first time of asking. Even with Japan dogged by radiation concerns, the country was still considered a safer option than Spain, which was in economic crisis, and Turkey, a nation grappling with street demonstrations and increasing problems with its neighbours next door. The IOC heeded assurances by Shinzō Abe, then Japan’s Prime Minister, who addressed www.facebook.com/insidethegames

the meeting. He said the tsunami-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant was “under control” and “has never done and will never do any damage to Tokyo”. Istanbul had delivered an ambitious proposal in which it pitched itself as a “historic choice”. It would have been the first Olympics in a predominantly Muslim nation, in a city that straddles two continents. But its bid lost its initial momentum after the Taksim Square protests, with doping scandals and the spectre of war in neighbouring Syria also dampening enthusiasm. After the vote, IOC members filed out of the hall at the Hilton Hotel complex to explain they had made a smart and safe choice rather than taking a risk. “The certainty was the critical factor,” said Sir Craig Reedie, the Briton who had chaired the IOC's Evaluation Commission which had inspected the bids. “The Prime Minister dealt with the one big issue.” Jacques Rogge, whose announcement of Tokyo as the host city for 2020 was his final major act before the end of his 12-year term as IOC President, said Japan prevailed because of the high quality of its bid and because of the experience of the team which went through the same process four years earlier. “Tokyo has described itself as a safe pair of hands,” Rogge said. “As a surgeon, that is something that appeals to me.” Hasan Arat, chairman of Istanbul's bid, compared the outcome to sport. “This is competition, and you have to respect the

The one year delay to Tokyo 2020 is highlighted on the Tokyo Skytree, a Games sponsor. Photo: Getty Images

results,” he said outside the conference hall. Later, while watching some of the Japanese team celebrating in the hotel bar, Arat told me: “One day you will find out how Tokyo really won. It is not the story people think it is.” More of that later. In Tokyo, where the announcement came in around 5am, cheers erupted from crowds gathered before dawn at public viewing venues. About 2,000 people had crowded into the gymnasium where Japan's women's volleyball team famously rallied the nation with a surprise gold medal at Tokyo 1964.

Tokyo winning the right to stage the Olympics and Paralympics feels like a lifetime ago. Photo: Getty Images

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To some, the announcement seemed no less surprising, even if Tokyo had been regarded as the overwhelming favourite. “I thought Tokyo had a slim chance because of the Fukushima nuclear disaster,” said Shingo Hayashi, a businessman among the celebrants in the gymnasium. Unlike in other nations, there was no discernible and organised opposition, and indeed there was widespread enthusiasm. This was in contrast to Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Games, which was undermined by domestic scepticism. Polls in 2009 showed that slightly more than 50 per cent of Tokyo residents wanted the Games, compared with some surveys before the 2013 vote which showed more than 90 per cent. Abe, who took power nine months before the vote, had also linked Japan’s bid to his efforts to stimulate the country’s economy. “I want to make the Olympics a trigger for sweeping away 15 years of deflation and economic shrinkage,” he said after Tokyo’s victory. In their pitch, Tokyo officials emphasised financial stability by saying there was already a $4.5 billion reserve fund. This was despite public debt worth more than twice the size of the economy, the highest ratio in the developed world. With an estimated total budget of $7.4 billion, Tokyo's Games would also be one of the cheapest in recent memory, undercutting Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, it was promised.

Rising COVID-19 cases has led to increased opposition to the Games in Japan. Photo: Getty Images

Of course, even before COVID-19 hit and forced the IOC to postpone the Olympics by a year until 2021, those budget estimates looked fanciful. Shortly after winning its bid, Tokyo 2020 redrew its budget and came up with a new figure of $12.6 billion. Then, a study released last year by the University of Oxford revealed this budget too had increased significantly.

There were wild scenes of celebration when Tokyo won the rights to the 2020 Games in Buenos Aires. Photo: Getty Images

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The study estimated that Tokyo’s spending stood at that point at $15.84 billion. This figure was already more than the amount spent on London 2012, which at $15 billion was the costliest Summer Olympics on record. The amount was actually probably higher because, as author of the report Bent Flyvbjerg explained, they had only included costs they could confirm. “Our estimates are conservative because there are lots of costs that are hidden that we can’t get into,” he said. “And there are lots of costs we decided not to include because it’s too complex. “We include the things we can get the most reliable numbers for and we do it in the same way for each city that we study.” Tokyo 2020 officially announced last December that the cost of the Games would be $15.4 billion. “The Tokyo Olympics are operating in a very tough environment,” Toshirō Mutō, the chief executive of the Organising Committee, said when asked about the record bill. A drive to recover some of the rising spending by coaxing more revenue from domestic sponsors was launched. About 70 sponsors had already contributed a record $3.3 billion, driven by Dentsu Inc, the marketing agent for Tokyo 2020. It has been widely reported that 15 top-tier domestic sponsors, including Japan Airlines, ANA and the Tokyo Skytree, have

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The Tokyo 2020 Torch Relay has been a subdued affair with the usual crowds of people absent. Photo: Getty Images

added an estimated $150 million to their contributions. But this was offset by the loss of ticket revenue after overseas fans were banned. The announcement of the increased budget seems to have been the catalyst for the growing opposition to Japan staging the Games. In a telephone poll of 1,200 people published by Japanese broadcaster NHK in December, 63 per cent said the Olympics should be postponed again or cancelled altogether, and only 27 per cent said the Games should be held. Since then, some polls have found opposition to be as high as 83 per cent. The dissent consistently hovered around 70 per cent until a survey published at the beginning of June showed half of Japanese people believed the Games should go ahead. That poll coincided with the number of coronavirus cases declining and the pressure on Japanese hospitals beginning to ease. The Japanese Government has tried to claim that, since COVID-19, “The Recovery Games” have taken on a second meaning. Japan has escaped the coronavirus crisis better than many countries. At the time of writing, the country had suffered just over 780,000 infections and fewer than 15,000 deaths. But the Government still extended a state of emergency less than two months before the Olympic Opening Ceremony date of July 23. An estimated 80,000 officials, journalists and support staff, in addition to the athletes, are expected to jet into Tokyo for the Games.

That is about half the number expected before the coronavirus pandemic forced the Games’ postponement last year, and comes after organisers asked National Olympic Committees and International Federations to reduce the size of their delegations. Mutō has promised the figure will be kept below 90,000 and could be cut further. But medical professionals have raised concerns that hosting thousands of athletes and officials from around the world during a pandemic could lead to the emergence of a new “Olympic” variant of the virus. Shigeru Omi, an infectious disease expert who heads the Japanese Government Subcommittee on the coronavirus, claimed it was “not normal” to hold the event under such conditions. JOC Board member Kaori Yamaguchi, an Olympic judo bronze medallist at Seoul 1988, added to the rancour when she said in an opinion piece that her nation had been “cornered” into pressing ahead with the Games, amid the public opposition. Even the Torch Relay, which so often in the past has provided the momentum to really grow public enthusiasm for the Olympics - particularly before Sydney 2000 and London 2012 - has become a journey of fear in Japan. In line with its original concept of helping the country recover from the earthquake, the Relay started its journey around Japan in Fukushima in March 2021 - a year later than planned. It was billed as a “bright light for hope” but the initial ceremony took place

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behind closed doors. When it did make it to local roads, spectators were sparse and those who did turn up were warned to wear face coverings and not cheer. During its tour, legs of the Torch Relay have had to be cancelled, re-routed or held on closed roads because of fears it could help spread the virus. When it visited Hiroshima, which should have been a symbolic leg after the city was destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945, it was held on private grounds with no spectators and was a truncated event. IOC President Thomas Bach cancelled his planned trip to attend. It is easy to understand why, to a large majority of Japanese, foreign visitors to their country must feel more like an invading army who present a threat rather than something to be welcomed. Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun has reported that out of 1,649 foreign nationals connected with the Olympics who entered Japan since the beginning of April, 1,432 were exempted from quarantine. This included 24 visitors from India, with 14 receiving quarantine exemptions. As it stands, Japanese citizens living outside the country, or spouses of local residents, require special dispensation to return and, even then, must quarantine for two weeks. Asahi Shimbun is a Tokyo 2020 sponsor but has been at the forefront of calls for the Games to be called off, including writing an editorial urging their cancellation. While all athletes have been offered

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vaccines following an agreement between the IOC and Pfizer-BioNTech, less than five per cent of Japan’s 126 million people had received at least one shot by June - the lowest rate among major economies. In addition, less than 30 per cent of medical workers in Tokyo had been fully vaccinated. Many people attending the Olympics will have been vaccinated and the IOC insists that contact between those involved in the Games and the rest of the population will be restricted, but it cannot be avoided altogether. There will still be catering staff, cleaners and bus drivers needed to make the Games happen, meaning that COVID-19 could easily pass from the Olympic bubble into Japanese society. The one thing that we have learned about this virus is the speed at which it can spread with some people not showing any symptoms. Some experts in Japan, though, have warned cancelling the Olympics could potentially cost the country more than the danger of a new surge in coronavirus cases which could be caused by hosting them. The Nomura Research Institute, a Japanese think tank, estimated that cancelling the Olympics and Paralympics this summer would cost Japan $16.5 billion. Even a new wave of infections and a fresh state of emergency triggered by the Games would cause less economic damage than cancelling the event outright, the Institute said. Those involved in the successful bid must now be wondering if the lengths they went to

while working to win the Games were worth it. For we now know that, running in parallel with the high-profile worldwide campaign to convince the IOC to vote for Tokyo 2020, there was a much more secret plan that needed to avoid becoming publicly known at all costs. It emerged in 2016 that Black Tidings Co, a now-defunct consulting firm based in Singapore, had received a total of $2 million from the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee which was paid into a bank account in the city state in July and October 2013. According to documents, by January 2014 the Singapore firm had wired more than $150,000 to the personal account of Papa Massata Diack, whose father Lamine Diack was a member of the IOC and said to have influence over African votes at the time of the Tokyo 2020 decision. Lamine Diack was later sentenced to two years in prison in France and fined €500,000 after being found guilty of taking bribes related to the cover-up of Russian doping. The money transferred by Tokyo 2020 included $35,000 paid to Papa Massata's account with a Russian bank in August and November 2013. The firm also made four money transfers totalling $217,000 to his company, PMD Consulting Sarl, from November to December 2013. The transfers were discovered in a joint review by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, as well as news outlets including BuzzFeed News, Asahi

Payments made to Papa Massata Diack have been probed amid claims of vote-buying. Photo: Getty Images

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Tsunekazu Takeda resigned from his roles following allegations of corruption. Photo: Getty Images

Shimbun, and Radio France, of a set of leaked reports of suspicious financial activity kept by the United States Treasury Department and French authorities. The documents included what the consortium identified as files submitted by financial institutions to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, which is tasked with combating money laundering and safeguarding the financial system from illicit use. Papa Massata has claimed the money he received was related to a “sponsorship deal made in China”. “There is nothing to do with the Tokyo Olympics,” he said, although no-one believes him. Takeda - the JOC President who led the Tokyo 2020 bid and, remember, said it was his “responsibility and an obligation” to bring the Olympic Games back to Japan - denied any knowledge of the money transfers from Black Tidings at the time of the bid. “At the time, I did not know anything that happened after [making the payment to the consulting firm],” he said. But Takeda, a former Olympic equestrian, stepped down as head of the JOC and resigned as a member of the IOC in June 2019, after French authorities confirmed earlier in the year they had started an official investigation into alleged corruption during Tokyo's bid. The scandal has largely been brushed under the carpet following the pandemic, but it all contributes to the belief that these Olympic and Paralympic Games cannot be over soon enough for everyone involved in them. By the time the Paralympic Games close on September 5, it will have been more than 10 years since the idea of Tokyo 2020 was conceived in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. By then, “The Recovery Games” will not be remembered as the event that boosted the Japanese public’s morale but simply with relief that they are finally over.

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The Tokyo Roller Coaster The lives of athletes have been flipped upside down by the coronavirus pandemic and the postponement of Tokyo 2020. Mike Rowbottom asks how you prepare for Games like no other.

uddenly, Marnie McBean, the triple Olympic rowing champion and Chef de Mission for Team Canada at Tokyo 2020, has stopped talking. I wonder if we have lost the line, but no. She’s still there, clearly considering her response to a question about the peculiar stresses she faces in her current role as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “As an athlete yourself you know about the ups and downs of such a journey anyway,

and with the pandemic it’s just been squared, hasn’t it?” I had asked. “It’s an enormous thing to take in as an athlete, and it must be really difficult for you, wanting the best for the athletes, and you can just imagine all the things they are going through?” She resumes. “Err…err well, yeah…honestly I think I just teared up at you saying that.” “The pandemic is different from anything,” the Officer of the Order of Canada and recipient of World Rowing’s Thomas Keller Medal adds. “I didn’t go through a pandemic as an athlete. But I remember the moment before what would have been my third Games in Sydney, when after my MRI for a lower back injury the doctor said ‘I can give you the bad news or the really bad news’. “Basically, it was done. It was three weeks beforehand. We had just arrived for a pre-Games training camp in Australia. So I remember what it felt like. Way back in March of

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2020 when the Tokyo Games were postponed, I knew what the athletes were hearing. “In that roller coaster analogy it’s that moment when you have just come over the top and the bottom falls out. “You just feel nothing below you. But there are times when really hard decisions are made very clearly and they are really easy to make. For me it was ‘I can’t row’. “So with the athletes I think the thing through this whole period of time is to really value every emotion that they’ve had. To never tell them to not feel something, whether it’s been anger, frustration, sorrow or depression. “I remember coming into this role in July 2019 and being asked what I wanted as the Chef de Mission. “I want Canadian athletes to be able to go to the Games and be their authentic self. If you’re a confident person I want you to feel authentically confident. And if you’re a person who needs to feel doubt, feel doubt. “I know athletes who can only perform

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MIKE ROWBOTTOM CHIEF FEATURE WRITER, INSIDETHEGAMES when they are really wallowing in the imposter syndrome - ‘I don’t belong here…’ “I felt that way. I felt I devalued the medal as soon as I’d won it. It used to be heroes that won these things and now I’ve got a couple of them…” Fifty-three-year-old McBean believes that “normal people” who feel they don’t belong at the Games are exactly the people who do. Her message during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a call to move forward, while she marked the 100 days to go milestone before Tokyo 2020 by urging an “exciting push to the finish”. “Someone is going to be winning Olympic medals in a less-than-normal Olympics let’s be the ones who are rising up on this day,” she said. “Everyone is on a different path but no-one has had a standard path to these Olympics.” Asked to reflect upon the changes the pandemic has brought about to her role, McBean said that everyone’s job has changed significantly. “Tokyo is going to be my tenth Games, and for five or six of them I have gone as a team member with a role as a specialist in press and mentoring,” the four-time Olympic medallist said. “Going into 2020 I knew the year was going to be a lot of travel in the lead-up to the

Marnie McBean's plans for Tokyo 2020 were ripped up when the Games were postponed. Photo: Getty Images

Games, into athlete training camps and competitions, and really getting familiar with them so that when we got to the Games there would be no new faces. “That changed dramatically. I had a flight booked to Tokyo on a Saturday afternoon and on Friday night it was like ‘well, you’re not going’. “So basically I just stopped travelling. Going into athlete camps and becoming familiar with Japan and with our team quickly was not a legit plan any more. “But what turned out to be really good was that in my

Athletes around the world have been vaccinated in anticipation of competing in Japan. Photo: Getty Images

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history as a team mentor, I always communicated through emails, sort of like a newsletter but more personal than that. “I’ve mentioned repeatedly to athletes that there has always been - and I would have been talking about this even without the pandemic - two different parts of the Olympics. There’s the Olympic competition and the Olympic Games. “The Olympic Games is all the stuff at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. And I have always said it’s not whether or not you want to go to the Opening or Closing Ceremony, particularly the Opening Ceremony, it’s whether you ought to go. “There are a lot of people who don’t go because it’s not a good competitive opportunity. “One of the things we have started doing with Team Canada is making sure that, before Beijing 2022 for example, we have five trips to Beijing with multiple teams so they don’t have to be tourists when they go to compete there. “I was listening to a journalist moaning recently about how these Games are going to happen. @insidethegames

“He was saying ‘so what you really expect is for the athletes to arrive, go to their hotel rooms, go to their training, do their competition and then leave?’ “And I went ‘well yeah, that’s pretty much it’. If you talk to the canoe kayakers, that’s what they do. “They compete in the second week, they are in hotel rooms somewhere remote, they watch the Games on TV, they show up, they compete, and then everyone is packing up to leave. “For months I have been reminding the athletes that it’s actually the performance they should be focusing on. Just the performance and they should not worry about other things. “I refer to the Tokyo playbooks as the ‘no-playbooks’. Here’s all the fun you can’t have… “But they are also userpositive in that they are telling you how to do your sport, and they are telling you that the Olympic Games are on.” When McBean took on her current role she said one of her main objectives at Tokyo 2020 would be to create a safe and welcoming environment for Canadian athletes to speak

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Athletes have been urged to focus on their Olympic dreams instead of the upheaval. Photo: Getty Images

openly about their passions outside of sport. How does that sit with Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which includes the following line: "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas?" “It’s not simple, is it?” McBean says, after a significant pause. “Our Athletes’ Commission got together and they were in agreement with the global results from the IOC Athletes’ Commission that they wanted to have opportunities but they didn’t want those opportunities to disrupt the field of play. “And they were clear in wanting to know what was the difference between a protest and a demonstration, and how do you get to say what is important to you? “And I recognise that while the majority of athletes have voted this way, it has often been the athletes who are in the minority who need to ring some sort of bell to draw awareness to a situation. “I think it’s going to be the hardest thing to do as a Chef de Mission, to respect an athlete’s right to choose if they want to break a rule. That’s going to be heartbreaking, but I am going to have to respect what they’ve done. “These are the rules of sport. But it’s going to come back to the Canadian public, and the

Canadian public could go ‘you know what? I’m proud of that athlete for making that stand’ or they could think ‘that wasn’t the place to do it’. “We are a team of Canadian athletes, which makes them Canadians first, and I believe they have all their human rights. But they are athletes also and they understand the rule.” McBean and her colleagues have been looking hard at how many

people really need to be in Tokyo. Coronavirus cases have been on the rise in Japan and, coupled with a slow vaccine rollout, huge numbers of local people are nervous. “I have people who I count on to do my job as Chef de Mission,” McBean said. “Two of those people I anticipated meeting with at least once or twice a day in Tokyo, sitting around having an end of day drink as we looked at the schedules and results, and bantering about what’s going on. “One of them is now going to be working from New Brunswick, and the other one is going to be based in Montreal. “We have pared our team down significantly - even the mentors who we have working with our athletes. For Tokyo, with a team of more than 400, we have two mentors. And at the Beijing Winter Games, for a team of more than 200, we will have five. “I’m starting to hear that a lot of the TV coverage is going to be done from Toronto. Everyone is adjusting how it’s going to be done. Interviews are way more

fun in person, I get it, but that can’t always happen. “We have also been looking at telling all our national sports federations, friends and family that they are going to be in a hotel room and won’t get to go around. “If they want to go into the Olympic Villages they can’t use public transport and we won’t have the resources to use our transportation for them. “We have told them ‘it’s not going to be a great experience for you there, so how can we help out?’ “I want everybody there. I want fans in the stands, I want Canadian fans in the stands. We want you there as journalists. “But as I’ve said to our team, we don’t need our mums and dads and brothers and sisters in the stands to know that they love us and that they are cheering for us.” International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has insisted that more than 80 per cent of athletes and

Teams will remain cocooned inside the Athletes' Village when not competing or training. Photo: Getty Images

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The usual mixing between people from different countries will not be allowed to happen in Tokyo. Photo: Getty Images

officials at Tokyo 2020 will have been vaccinated, while trying to give the impression that the Village at the Games will be safe. “This number will even continue to grow as we approach the Games with the many new and ongoing efforts in this regard, including offers from three different vaccine producers to the IOC for Olympic participants,” he said. So what proportion of Canadian athletes at Tokyo 2020 does McBean envisage being vaccinated against COVID-19? “Right now I don’t have those facts,” she said. “I was talking with our softball team recently and they had a training camp in the United States and they all got vaccinated. “And they were somewhat sheepish and saying ‘how do we talk about that?’ And I was like ‘Tell the truth. You’ve been in the States, they’ve vaccinated you and that’s great’.

“There are places in the world where you go and, particularly in the States, it’s easy to get the vaccine. “Now in Canada it's 18-and-over across the country. So we will rapidly be getting doses into arms. “It’s what we expected - if we just wait our turn it will come up. Now, more than 50 per cent of Canadians eligible have had immunisation. “Of our most vulnerable citizens, 70 to 80 per cent had a first shot. Most of our provinces are recovering after the terrible third wave we had. “Even pre-vaccinations there were more than 400 competitions with 50,000 athletes competing around the world, and there hasn’t been a spreader amongst them. “With athletes we are also talking about a group that is really used to following rules, filling out forms, giving testing whereabouts for the next six months. Athletes are really used to having some of their personal choices restricted.”

Paul Ford, the deputy Chef de Mission for Britain at Tokyo 2020, echoes McBean’s emphasis on trying to keep athletes’ minds firmly on their level of performance. “The critical thing for us is maintaining focus on the performance of athletes and reassuring them that their focus should be on delivering on what they’ve been working so hard for over the last Olympic cycle and beyond,” he told insidethegames. “We have been working very hard with all our local partners in Kawasaki and Yokohama, as well as the Local Organising Committee, to ensure our athletes and staff are safe in the environment and that we are the best guests possible to the people of Japan. “We feel very safe and confident in the diligent work that’s being done across multiple partners. The IOC, the Japanese Government and the Organising

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Committee for the Olympic Games have all been working extremely hard to provide a framework for the delivery of the Games through the Tokyo playbooks, which best supports the athletes and their safe participation across whichever sport they compete in. “In terms of vaccinations, it’s fantastic that the IOC and Pfizer have worked together to make vaccines available for all the nations competing at the Games. “We’ve worked closely with the British Government and the National Health Service, who are doing an incredible job, and now we’re working with all national governing bodies to implement this roll-out for athletes and staff across our delegation.” Asked about athletes’ biggest concerns going into the Games, Ford replies: “The biggest questions we’re getting from athletes are about how these Games are going to be different.

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MIKE ROWBOTTOM CHIEF FEATURE WRITER, INSIDETHEGAMES “Ultimately, they are going to be different for obvious reasons including restricted movement, less time in the country and less time practicing in their competition venues. “The comfort we’re able to give them is through Team GB facilities like the preparation camp or performance lodge, so they can complete final training in the country with the same Games equipment and spaces that they would have had were they in the competition venues, which has been reassuring for them.” On the subject of how athletes will cope with the restrictions at Tokyo 2020, Ford makes a similar point to McBean’s about how following rules is something ingrained in them. “We’ve done a number of video calls for all potential athletes for the Games, as well as daily contact with governing bodies to ensure they’re aware of what the requirements are,” he said. “Rules aren’t something new for athletes and teams participating at the Games. “We work on the principle of functioning as ‘one team’ and how we can bring together the 33 Summer Olympic sports to become Team GB at the Summer Olympic Games under our shared values. “That’s something we go back

Most of the talk will be about coronavirus but the issue of athlete protests will linger in the background in Tokyo. Photo: Getty Images

to and those responsibilities of uniting the teams together are no different to what they’d be pre-COVID, but now it’s re-emphasising that point.” When considering the most challenging aspects of the Tokyo 2020 playbooks to deliver, in terms of athlete safety and behaviour, Ford said the biggest thing for an athlete to consider is “why they are there”. “That’s to take part in the pinnacle of their sporting careers and we hope delivering the sporting performance of their lives at the Olympic Games,” he said. “It’s about reassuring them that the restrictions and rules in place from the playbooks are there for their own safety and for the nation of Japan.” All of the upheaval means there will be extra emphasis on the mental health of athletes come Games time. “Team GB is implementing its own mental health strategy for the Games, something it has been working on in consultation with sports and experts in this field in the UK,” Ford said. “The emphasis is ensuring we are supporting athletes and staff in the build-up to, during and after the Games, ensuring that mental and physical well-being is considered and catered for throughout. “We have delivered specialised training for a group of mental health champions across the HQ team, and across all our sport disciplines most staff have attended a three-hour mental health awareness workshop which focused on positive mental health, self-care and signposting routes for referrals. “It is hoped that this approach will help to promote well-being, reduce risk factors for poor mental health and ensure there is appropriate support for those experiencing mental health problems.” Greek pole vaulter Katerina Stefanidi will be defending her Olympic title in Tokyo, supported by the man who is both her husband and coach, Mitch Krier.

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Olympic pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi said she feared having to withdraw from the Games due to a positive COVID test. Photo: Getty Images

The 31-year-old athlete, who moved to the US in 2008 to take up an athletics scholarship at Stanford University, will head into the Games with one main worry. “As an athlete my concern is to be in Tokyo and test positive for COVID-19 when I have absolutely no health issues, and then I am not allowed to compete,” she told insidethegames. “Similarly if the same happened to my coach. “As a person I am concerned about the health of myself and my husband and coach, but also our team. “Our head coach, for instance, is recovering from cancer treatment and I am sure he is high risk. I trust that Japan will have good measures and I have read the playbook, but of course anything can happen with this virus. “I want to hope and believe that as long as we stay in the Olympic Village and get tested every day, we should not put the Japanese public in any danger. “Of course that would require athletes to be responsible and not leave the Village, and to follow all the health protocols. “I had fewer competitions this @insidethegames

year than I did in 2016 before Rio. However, part of the reason why is because the Tokyo Olympics this year are two weeks earlier than Rio was. “I would have definitely liked more time but we have planned to peak at the beginning of August and this is why I had to start competing early this outdoor season, in order to time things up correctly. “I would say the general hassle about the Tokyo 2020 Games is something that worries me a lot. “Currently Greece has a scheduled training camp in Japan before the Olympics, so hopefully we won’t have to come into Japan just five days before competition. “But of course it is possible that this gets cancelled. I have heard of other countries having their training camps cancelled. I don’t want to think about this until it happens, but it would definitely be very difficult to arrive in Japan and the Olympic Village just five days before. “It would be especially very stressful for pole vaulters as our poles don’t always arrive with us.”

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Aquatics

Husain Al-Musallam, President, International Swimming Federation After a very challenging and unpredictable period of preparation and training for all athletes, I am sincerely confident that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will be a huge success for the sport of aquatics. In collaboration with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, Japanese authorities and the International Olympic Committee, we have established robust protocols for the safety and protection of all athletes and teams.

FINA’s efforts, along with those of our National Federations and the talent and dedication of aquatics athletes, have significantly improved the standing of aquatics disciplines in the Olympic Games. Our sport now offers more medal opportunities than any other. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games therefore presents a huge opportunity for aquatics stars to shine on the world’s biggest stage. Tokyo will of course not only be an opportunity for athletes to be back in an Olympic venue, whether that is in the pool, at the end of a diving board, on the field of

play or in the open water. It will be a celebration of resilience, solidarity and of our shared humanity. I am delighted that these Games will also mark the introduction of the first ever mixedgender swimming event, the mixed 4x100 metres medley relay. As one of the most watched sports during the Olympic Games, I have no doubt that aquatics athletes at Tokyo 2020 will inspire millions of young people around the world to get active. And, right now, that is more important than ever before.

to have a balanced gender composition, it’s only right that men and women should finally compete, equally, together. In the technological capital of Tokyo, we’ll debut improved automatic electronic scoring and live heart rate monitoring to depict athlete stress. And these Games will leave a legacy, thanks to a very special former athlete, HE the former Prime Minister of Japan Mr Shinzō Abe, who insisted that Yumenoshima Park Archery Field would not only host the competitions during the Games, but remain for the archery community in Japan afterwards. World Archery has found new focus on local sporting communities in the wake of the pandemic, running remote events and education projects to get people #BacktoArchery. International events returned at the start of

2021 but everything has been leading up to the Games themselves, when we’ll finally get to see the world’s elite, all together, on one range once again. Stars such as Olympic champion Oh Jin-hyek and world champion Brady Ellison. Breakthrough athletes like Lisa Barbelin and Casey Kaufhold. Trailblazers like Ruman Shana and Karma, who qualified the first-ever quotas for Bangladesh and Bhutan, respectively. They’ll all be in one place. One year later than we all planned, but no less hungry for the prize on offer. Sixty-four of the best men and 64 of the best women will compete for those five Olympic archery gold medals this summer in Tokyo. I wish every single one of them luck - and I can’t wait to see them on the shooting line.

reason, we have done everything possible to ensure that these Games can be conducted in a safe and secure environment. I am confident the Tokyo Games can be held safely, both for the athletes and for the local Japanese population. Over the last year, athletics has successfully conducted more than 600 competitions around the world, including two World Athletics Series events with athletes attending from dozens of countries around the globe, so we know we have health protocols that can stand up to the challenge before us. I regret that international fans will not be able to attend the Games as they give so much to the atmosphere in the stadium, but our leading athletes have learned how to perform without

the energy of the crowd in the last year and have performed extraordinarily well. I know they will put on a magnificent show regardless. The reality is the vast majority of our global audience tune in to the Olympic Games through broadcast so their experience will not be substantially affected, and I know the power and passion of the world’s best athletes will shine through their screens as usual. We are tremendously grateful to the people and Government of Japan for their commitment and resilience in these unprecedented circumstances and I believe the successful staging of the Games will send a much-needed message of hope to the world.

Archery

Uğur Erdener, President, World Archery Archery is ingrained in the history of almost every country in the world, in the history of humanity and in the history of sport. It’s certainly got a strong history in Japan. But this is, of course, the first time the sport will have an Olympic history in the country, having not been featured in 1964. This look at the past serves to give context to the excitement of the present. For the first time, archery will award five gold medals at the Olympic Games following the addition of the mixed team event. Having been one of the first sports to add a women’s competition and one of the first

Athletics

Sebastian Coe, President, World Athletics This will be an Olympic Games like no other, due to the ongoing pandemic, but I’m very pleased that it will go ahead, primarily for the thousands of athletes for whom this may be their only chance to become an Olympian and for the fans who crave the joy and inspiration that the Games provide in these challenging times. Historically, just over 70 per cent of athletes only have one chance to attend the Olympic Games and for most it is the pinnacle of their careers and fulfils the dreams and hard work of a lifetime. For that

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Badminton

Poul-Erik Høyer, President, Badminton World Federation Every host city has its own characteristics, strengths and challenges. This has been complicated somewhat by the COVID-19 pandemic. But TOCOG and the IOC have done a great job under difficult circumstances to ready the city for what will be a very important, but also memorable, Olympic Games. We have collaborated and worked with both parties on many levels to share our COVID-19-related experiences, and we feel

that collectively we are well prepared to stage the Olympic badminton competition despite the health, safety and logistical issues linked to the pandemic. It also helps that Japan is a very badminton knowledgeable country, and we are very confident the Olympic badminton competition will be of the highest standard. We’ve had one of our biggest World Tour tournaments - the Japan Open - at the Olympic venue in 2018 and 2019 and that has been a great testing ground for how the venue will cope during Games time. We expect all technical and operational requirements, from flooring to lighting, and the movement of participants, to be

safe and superb. It is a shame that due to COVID-19 the badminton competition will be conducted in a different environment than what we are used to at the Olympic Games, but the health and safety protocols implemented by TOCOG and the International Olympic Committee are a necessary measure to ensure these Games go ahead without compromising the welfare of all involved. Overall, though, with Japan’s fantastic pedigree and recent successes in the sport, plus the exciting global talent we have coming through at the moment, I expect badminton to be one of the most watched and followed sports at the Games.

Cycling

David Lappartient, President, Union Cycliste Internationale Cycling will see the addition of another discipline at the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer: BMX freestyle park. The introduction of this spectacular specialty, which appeals particularly to the young generation, is a new step that strengthens the close ties between cycling and the Olympic Movement. These ties are constantly evolving, after the addition of mountain bike in 1996 and BMX racing in 2008 to the two historic disciplines of road and track - part of the modern Olympic Games since the inaugural edition in 1896. The arrival of BMX freestyle and the return of the madison - with a women’s competition for the first time - brings the number of Olympic titles awarded in cycling to 22. This makes cycling the third sport in terms of medal numbers. Continually developing, cycling has shown it can face up to the challenges of our times. Its ability to overcome the health crisis which has been affecting the world since the beginning of 2020 was applauded by the international sporting community, not least the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach in person when he attended the 2020 UCI Road World Championships in Imola.

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Despite the circumstances which led to the cancellation of 55 per cent of events on the UCI international calendar in 2020, our sport was able to work unitedly to draw up modified calendars and establish solid health protocols that enabled cycling to get rolling again. Although it is expected, due to the health context, that the conditions will be very different from usual, the Tokyo Olympic Games are a new step towards a return to

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normal for international sport. These Games represent hope for athletes as well as for fans of cycling and all 33 sports represented. In closing, I would like to extend, on behalf of our Federation and our sport, our enormous gratitude to Japan and the Japanese people for organising and welcoming this event, which will be exceptional in more ways than one. Arigato Nippon!

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Basketball

Andreas Zagklis, Secretary General, International Basketball Federation There will be no shortage of magnificent spectacles this summer at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. For basketball, it will be the first time that 12 Olympic medals will be up for grabs including the historic debut of 3x3 which marks another step forward in our sport's ongoing evolution. Basketball remains a hot ticket at the Olympic Games and is a very popular sport in Japan. We are excited to be able to have basketball's top players compete in Tokyo in both the men's and women's tournaments, especially

with this season's adjusted NBA calendar. FIBA and the NBA held several rounds of discussions on the 2020-2021 NBA season. It started late with a reduced regular season schedule, and the play-offs finished in time for the start of Tokyo 2020. FIBA has successfully executed numerous "bubble" tournaments during the pandemic, and we have gained a lot of experience along the way, both in basketball and 3x3. This is thanks to our strong protocols developed in conjunction with the World Health Organization and the NBA. We have full confidence in both the IOC and the Local Organising Committee that they will also be able to execute the tournaments starting in July successfully.

FIBA had a bold and exciting vision to take 3x3 basketball from the streets to the Olympic Games. In June 2017, due to numerous well-organised events all over the world and some wonderful displays of skill and talent by players, basketball's urban discipline was granted entry to Tokyo 2020. This addition to the Olympic basketball programme is a clear indicator of how far the discipline has developed. With both basketball and 3x3 being so popular in Japan, and especially with the Japanese men’s and women’s teams set to take part in the 3x3 tournaments, we are confident that both these Olympic disciplines will be a slam dunk in Tokyo.

Boxing

Morinari Watanabe, Chairman, International Olympic Committee Boxing Task Force As a traditional sport that has been a part of the Olympic programme since 1904, and one of the most engaging events at the Games, we trust that boxing will shine during Tokyo 2020 and that it will be a true showcase of Olympic values, as well as a turning point for the sport. The pandemic had a significant impact on the boxing qualification pathway leading to Tokyo 2020. Nevertheless, the overarching goal of the BTF remained to ensure a clear, just and fair pathway that is consistent with already established principles and systems. We did our best to achieve that goal, and

we empathise with teams and athletes who experienced challenges and disruptions posed by these unprecedented times in their quest for the Olympic dream. In November 2019, the BTF amended the event regulations for the Olympic boxing qualifying events and the boxing tournament at Tokyo 2020, with specific changes to deliver its commitment to transparency while minimising the impact on boxers. During the continental qualifiers held in 2020, numerous boxers and team officials commented on their preferences towards the rule changes made by the BTF, especially the display of the scores at the end of each round. One of the objectives of the BTF is to define and document new processes to establish the

highest standards and credibility in boxing competitions, particularly with regard to the selection of the referees and judges. Throughout our journey, we have been constantly in touch with National Federations, National Olympic Committees, athlete ambassadors and individual boxers. Per the feedback we’ve received, we feel a lot of motivation and appreciation among our boxers and the boxing community as the Games are approaching. Of course, it will be a different experience compared to the past, but the magic of the Games is still intact in the hearts of the participants, and many feel this will be a positive milestone on our way out of these challenging times.

Canoeing

José Perurena, President, International Canoe Federation We will see high-level competitions at Tokyo 2020, with athletes competing at a superior level than Rio 2016. In the Tokyo programme we have made fundamental changes, including having the same number of events for men and women for the first time, with the same quotas. There is an important change in the K4 men which goes from 1000 metres to 500m. I think this will be the most spectacular www.facebook.com/insidethegames

event of the Games, while we will also see the incorporation of women to canoe events. In just six years, women have achieved the same technical level as men. This programme is designed not only for Tokyo 2020. This year will be the starting point for future Games and I am very satisfied with the programme. My relationship with the Olympic Games is lifelong, and when I was a young canoeist I thought about the Games and trained for the Games. It must be remembered that in Spain, in the 1960s, few understood that you would train to go to the Olympic Games. There was @insidethegames.biz

a total lack of technical means, canoes and centres where I could train. I achieved my dream and participated at Mexico City 1968. Since Seoul 1988, I have been to all of the Games. Tokyo will be my last Olympics as President. It will be a strange feeling for me, without the Presidents of the National Federations and without the canoeing family. It will be a different but necessary Games, because hundreds of thousands of athletes from around the world during 2020 and 2021 have trained in very difficult situations and they deserve to make Tokyo a reality.

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Equestrian

Ingmar De Vos, President, International Equestrian Federation Over the past year the COVID-19 pandemic and the Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1 neurological form) outbreak has caused massive disruption to the FEI calendar as well as to national events. While this has tested the equestrian community’s resilience and resolve, it has also made every member of the community acutely aware of their individual responsibility to respect and abide by all safety measures in place.

In addition to prioritising the health and safety of everyone involved, another key concern for the FEI has been to reduce organisation costs. The FEI has been collaborating closely with the IOC and Tokyo to identify areas within the sport where we can improve cost efficiency and adapt the cost implications of the postponement with minimal impact on the sport and the athletes. Construction of the main equestrian venue at Baji Koen was completed before the postponement was announced, and most of the infrastructure at the eventing cross country venue at Sea Forest was also in place, including the temporary stabling.

For cost-saving reasons, all these temporary structures were left in place, as it would have been more expensive to dismantle and then reassemble them for the Games in 2021. These Games will be very different to their predecessors due to the COVID-19 countermeasures that have been put in place to ensure a safe and successful Olympics and Paralympics this summer. While this means that there are a lot of requirements that have never previously existed, we have been working closely with the IOC to ensure that the athlete experience remains the top priority and we are looking forward to top sport in Tokyo.

Fencing

Alisher Usmanov, President, International Fencing Federation At Tokyo 2020, fencing will for the first time be fully represented with 12 gold medal events at the Olympic Games, including all three weapons for men and women in team and individual competitions. This is a momentous achievement in the development of our sport, and I am confident that Tokyo 2020 will be an important milestone in the history of fencing. I would like to stress the incredible diligence and preparation our athletes have

undertaken in view of this year’s Olympics, which will feature fencers from 42 countries from across the globe. This is a testament to the diversity and broad reach of fencing worldwide. The continuing developments by the FIE in how fencing is presented will allow Olympic audiences to better understand the sport’s rules and techniques and witness its genuine beauty. The FIE’s activities over the past several years, such as the “Sport Explainers” project, television programming and social media, as well as live-streaming on the YouTube FIE Fencing Channel, have allowed fencing to

gain a massive, interactive world audience that knows and follows our fencing stars and competitions wherever they take place. We are doing our utmost to contribute to the safe running of the Olympic Games, and we strongly support the efforts made in this respect by the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee. I am looking forward to greeting our new Olympic champions in fencing, and welcoming athletes who are taking part in the Olympic Games for the first time. I wish all participants much success in competing.

are all feeling the tension. But I agree with Thomas Bach when he says that the Olympic Games, like the FIFA World Cups, are special. They are special in a sense that when they start, they give people a bit of distraction which is what we need in this period. It also gives hope and joy to so many people because at the Olympic Games you have athletes from all over the world participating and many countries have chances to win a medal. We are fully supportive of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, being played out in a safe

and secure environment. We know this will imply certain restrictions. We are not happy about that, but we understand the measures and we will comply with them. I am looking forward to these Olympics, especially the start of the Games because all the polemics will stop, and we can concentrate on the sport. As you know the football tournaments start a couple of days before the Opening Ceremony, so football is always first when it comes to the Olympics.

Football

Gianni Infantino, President, FIFA We have been following the situation in Japan very closely as we have two Olympic tournaments in the men’s and women’s events. At the recent FIFA Congress, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach gave us a welcome speech and reassured us about the situation in Tokyo. Of course, we are all reading the media, we are all seeing what is happening and we

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I’M THE BOSS The IF Presidents look forward to Tokyo 2020

Golf

Annika Sörenstam, President, International Golf Federation Speaking on behalf of the International Golf Federation, we’re obviously excited to finally have the opportunity to conduct the men’s and women’s competitions and to build upon the remarkable success we enjoyed in 2016 with golf’s return to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after more than 100 years. Having six medallists from six different countries, and playing before large enthusiastic crowds both weeks, certainly spoke to golf’s continued global growth and appeal.

With the Olympics being such an iconic part of international sports culture, we’re extremely proud to once again be a part of the programme in Tokyo. With that said, we realise these Olympic Games obviously will be different in many regards due to a pandemic that has impacted virtually every facet of our lives. Not only is it affecting our own preparations and the manner in which every sport will be conducted, but, in some cases, it will impact an athlete’s decision on whether to even participate. But in many parts of the world we have also seen sports come back and play an important role in helping to regain some sense of normalcy, and I’m extremely proud of the role professional golf has played as a leader in this regard.

The professional golf tours not only were among the first to return, but they established extensive safety and testing protocols that have served as a model for other sports to follow. In consultation with these tours, we are utilising and refining these practices to assure a safe environment for our athletes and fans at Kasumigaseki Country Club. Despite these exceptional circumstances, we are confident that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will provide all our athletes with a unique, memorable and rewarding experience in front of some of the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable golf fans in the world, and will serve as an inspiration to young golfers around the world.

Gymnastics

Morinari Watanabe, President, International Gymnastics Federation With competitions nearly every day, gymnastics will again light up the Games, especially as several outstanding athletes who already shone at the Olympics in London or Rio, and in the FIG World Championships, will be in Tokyo. Everybody expects to see them standing on the medal podiums, but the competition will be

fierce. Athletes from many countries have the skills to achieve their dreams and to make history. We will see gymnastics in its universality and diversity. Before the pandemic, some of the qualifications had already been completed. Due to the travel restrictions, a few qualification events had to be cancelled and, consequently, the unused Olympic quotas will be reallocated based on the rankings of the 2019 World Championships, as it is stated in the Olympic qualification system. We were affected by the

pandemic, but it was manageable. There is always excitement with gymnastics at the Games and, for sure, the atmosphere will be special this year. However, the fans who can get tickets to attend the Games are only a minority. Even though others cannot come to the venue, I am sure they will follow and enjoy the events on television, social media or other platforms. As FIG President, I will do my utmost to organise the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. That’s my responsibility.

Handball

Hassan Moustafa, President, International Handball Federation Back in 1964, Tokyo hosted unforgettable Olympic Games and now, 57 years later, we find ourselves in the same place to witness another Olympics, which no-one will ever forget. In contrast to 1964, handball is on this year’s agenda and seizes the opportunity to shine in the impressive Yoyogi National Stadium, which was built back then to host the aquatics and basketball competitions. However, while the handball world eagerly awaits its first Games in Japan, we have to recognise that it has been a long way to get here, as the outbreak of the COVID-19 www.facebook.com/insidethegames

pandemic in 2020 upset all plans made. At this point, I would like to express my appreciation towards the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee for the incredible work they have been doing. There are many people still doubting the decision to hold Tokyo 2020 but, on behalf of the International Handball Federation, I can say that we fully support the IOC in their endeavours. The IHF hosted a World Championship in January. We were one of the first to hold a global team sports event and, moreover, it was the first IHF World Championship featuring 32 teams. We took a risk, but we knew that as the @insidethegames.biz

world has learned to live alongside the virus, we have to, too. We believed in the strength of our community - who did not let us down – and, with a carefully planned hygiene concept, we made it. I am sure, with the carefully planned playbooks published by the IOC, Tokyo 2020 and joint forces, the Olympic Games will also make it. We have been growing closer together throughout this past year and if this pandemic has shown anything, it is that we are stronger together. Together, we can overcome all challenges and, therefore, I am confident that Tokyo 2020 will be a success. As long as we stand together.

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I’M THE BOSS The IF Presidents look forward to Tokyo 2020

Hockey

Narinder Batra, President, International Hockey Federation You can expect fantastic hockey at Tokyo 2020, even though the COVID-19 pandemic has put so many hurdles in front of the teams as they make their preparations. If you look at the FIH Hockey Pro League matches, and the practice and test matches which many national teams have had recently, we are up for another two weeks of top flight hockey in Tokyo. On top of that, the hockey events are taking place in a brand new venue, the Oi Hockey Stadium, which will be a great legacy for the development of hockey in Japan. Clearly, we were more fortunate than a

number of other sports since all teams were qualified before the pandemic started. Of course, we have had to adapt and adjust plans according to the evolution of the situation in Japan but, thanks to the IOC and Tokyo 2020, we have always received guidance whenever needed and this has been particularly helpful. Also, we are in permanent contact with the participating teams, and they have been great partners in this journey. We have been able to bring a lot of experience and expertise from our own FIH Hockey Pro League matches which have run through the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, to help the planning for Tokyo. This, along with the input of the IOC and Tokyo 2020, has enhanced the process of planning and preparing greatly. The motivation of athletes is extremely high.

They are eager to play at such a prestigious event and aware of the great exposure which the Olympic Games bring to hockey. For those who are already Olympians, they know that it will be a different experience from their previous Games. But, clearly, they understand this and are aware of all the efforts which have been made to offer the best possible Games for everybody. We all know that the COVID-19 pandemic has created an immense challenge for the staging of these Games. We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to the IOC, the Japanese authorities, Tokyo 2020 and all Japanese people for the tremendous efforts they have shown. We are sure that these Games will be a great sign of hope for the world.

Judo

Marius Vizer, President, International Judo Federation

With the Tokyo Olympics, judo returns home for the first Games since the introduction of our sport in 1964 in Japan. It has been a long road full of obstacles but also full of incredible successes. This year, judo returns better and stronger than ever for what is sure to be an exceptional Games. In judo we often say that the path or the way is more important than the goal itself, and that there is more merit when the circumstances are complex. By relying on our morals and each other, we have risen to the challenges of the past year and made the impossible possible. We have found value in our resilience, and we must move forward because sport plays a powerful role in fostering union and harmony. The Olympic Games are an expression of solidarity between athletes, coaches, organisers, sports enthusiasts, media and sponsors all over the world. It is a moment to gather and prove that there are always solutions to obstacles, and that we

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can do what we love as long as we take the necessary measures together. In that sense, we implement a strict security protocol that allows everyone to focus on their Olympic dream. After our successful test event at the 2019 World Judo Championships in Tokyo, and a safe season of World Judo Tour events, we are confident that the Tokyo Olympics will be sensational. There are so many stories, and so many feats, that will take place in Japan this

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summer, with each of our athletes ready to give their all. I think it will be a spectacular and historic tournament with many firsts, including our first mixed team tournament at the Games. I wish everyone all the best, good luck and, above all, I hope that everyone safely enjoys these unique Olympic Games. The judo family not only celebrates these Games, but also demonstrates that we are, indeed, stronger together.

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Modern pentathlon

Klaus Schormann, President, International Modern Pentathlon Union We have achieved the main objective - to host three rounds of the UIPM 2021 Pentathlon World Cup and the World Cup Final successfully as qualification competitions for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, taking place in 2021. Our UIPM team is in close cooperation with the modern pentathlon organising team in Tokyo to ensure smooth preparation in all aspects of competition management, having held our official test event in 2019. We are also in close cooperation with our referees, technical delegates and medicine

delegates, and of course our athletes, coaches and team officials. Modern pentathlon at Tokyo 2020 will be very well presented at a top-class facility and we are certain it will be a wonderful showcase for our sport, with athletes performing all five disciplines in one venue for the first time at the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games offers the best global promotion for our sport and we will again be celebrating the fact we have been gender-equal since the introduction of the women’s event in Sydney in 2000. We are aiming for an enhanced media presentation to promote our sport to more audiences around the world. The Olympic Games will also demonstrate

strong solidarity between International Federations, National Olympic Committees and the International Olympic Committee. As always we expect our athletes to compete in a spirit of respect and fair play, as envisaged by the founder of our sport, Baron Pierre de Coubertin. I know that the IOC, together with the World Health Organization, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and National and City Governments, are acting with the highest regard for the protection of athletes, team officials, other visitors and of course the people of Japan. We are all taking our responsibilities very seriously and the most important thing will be to stay healthy.

Federations and our athletes, who faced enormous challenges to train and prepare, many without competition for a year. We have committed $2.5 million to support preparations for our qualified teams and those in the paused qualification process, and taken an agile approach to organising preparation events. Tokyo will be our second appearance at the Games in the modern era. Our debut at Rio 2016 was a transformational moment for the sport - showcasing the breathtaking skill of our wonderful sevens athletes to a new, wider audience - and the results were sensational. The feedback at Rio was excellent and I believe that we put our best foot forward, attracting more than 30 million new followers

to the sport. But the true measure of success was the reaction from the athletes who cherished the opportunity to convert a dream and perform on sport’s biggest stage as Olympians. As we look ahead to Tokyo 2020, we believe the Games will be a symbol of hope, recovery and unity. We know that Tokyo will be excellent hosts. We witnessed first-hand at Rugby World Cup 2019 just how the Japanese people love to come together and support a major event. While preparations have been challenging for everyone, I am sure the same spirit of unity, national pride and the famous Omontenashi will come to the fore, spurring the athletes on to be the best they can be, and demonstrating that we are, as society and sport, stronger together.

Rugby

Sir Bill Beaumont, Chairman, World Rugby It would be an understatement to say that the last year and a half has been challenging for everyone, sport included. The pandemic has had the biggest impact on the structure and sustainability of sport in living memory. But it has also seen the best of our sport and its values. Whether it is the way our athletes have joined front-line health workers or how the sport has rallied in unity to reset, reimagine and redefine its future, it has been a humbling journey. We recognise that this period has been exceptionally tough on our National

Table tennis

Thomas Weikert, President, International Table Tennis Federation After the difficult 18 months that all international sport has endured, Tokyo 2020 will be a ray of sunshine bringing the sporting world back together and giving everyone hope. I can’t wait for the table tennis event with the competition being very open, and all the players very excited to be back on the court to give the world a great show.

China will be pushed all the way by the home Japanese team, as well as other top stars from around the world who have been playing very well over the last few years and are capable of causing upsets. Tokyo will see the mixed doubles event being played for the first time at an Olympic Games. Mixed doubles has always been a regular fixture at our World Championships and professional tour, so I am looking forward to the world seeing the beauty of mixed doubles that we know and love.

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I’M THE BOSS The IF Presidents look forward to Tokyo 2020

Rowing

Jean-Christophe Rolland, President, World Rowing As I like to say again and again: ‘’As long as it is not impossible, it is possible. The race is not over until you cross the finish line.” The pandemic has put the world into a terribly difficult context and the world of sport has been severely impacted. But we have decided not to give up. We have decided to fight and give the athletes the chance to compete and perform in a safe environment. Even when I hear the pressure from some to stop, I believe that it is our duty, for the athletes, to make everything possible. To organise and stage the Olympic Games is quite complex and COVID-19 has made the challenges even greater. I very much recognise the immense effort and huge work made by the Japanese hosts and authorities. Also, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and the International Olympic Committee, for making everything possible, despite the adverse context, so that the athletes can make their dreams come true.

It has been a difficult and bumpy journey towards the Opening Ceremony and, of course, these Games will be special and unique in many ways. The strict countermeasures will certainly affect the experience of the participants. This, however, is the price to pay to mitigate the risk at a reasonable level and ensure a safe environment for all. And, first and foremost, to respect the Japanese people. In rowing we have been able to complete every Olympic qualification event, albeit sometimes a year later than planned. This is thanks to the support and dedication of all, from the local organisers and local authorities to the teams and athletes. The events have all been carried out with appropriate prevention plans which have proven their efficiency. This has shown that our sport remains strong and adaptable. One of the continental qualification events took place this year at the Sea Forest Waterway

in Tokyo, the venue for the Olympic rowing regatta. This gave us a trial run for what the Olympic regatta would be like and what the venue was able to offer. It was a great success and there’s no denying our feeling of relief. Our confidence since has continued to grow. It is the resilience, belief and attitude of all the stakeholders that has made these Games possible and it is the strength, determination and fortitude of the athletes that will make these Games remarkable. Thank you to Japan and to the Japanese people for making it happen.

Since my election at the end of 2020, I have enjoyed positive discussions with IOC President Thomas Bach and the wider IOC and Tokyo 2020 team. I am excited to continue these discussions, sharing our passion for sport at Tokyo 2020 and watching our sailing athletes’ dreams come true in Enoshima. World Sailing will be focused on using the opportunities the Games presents to showcase our beautiful sport to new and existing fans. Our sport is unique. It harnesses the power of nature, and has high levels of athleticism. By showcasing this through our promotional channels and embracing the world’s media, we hope that millions more people will fall in love with sailing.

Throughout the pandemic we have ensured that every team, official and athlete has had the support they need to be able to perform on a level playing field. Over the course of the competition, the sailing events will have something for everybody which will make for a wonderful spectacle on the water. It will be exciting to see so many great athletes in Tokyo such as the legendary Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli from Argentina, Robert Scheidt of Brazil, Dutch sailor Marit Bouwmeester and RS:X windsurfer Charline Picon of France. They are just some of the many stars we are lucky to have in our sport. Expect high intensity and pressurised scenarios come racing time.

Sailing

Quanhai Li, President, World Sailing It is an honour to be the World Sailing President heading into the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and to be leading the federation in a Games like no other previously held. The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that all stakeholders have had to be agile and adaptable in their preparations. I am proud of the World Sailing team who have been proactive in preparing for the Games, ensuring no stone is left unturned as we create a safe environment for athletes, officials, volunteers and the Japanese people.

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I’M THE BOSS The IF Presidents look forward to Tokyo 2020

Shooting

Vladimir Lisin, President, International Shooting Sport Federation It is a great honour for me to be at the head of the International Shooting Sport Federation during the long-awaited Olympic Games. The ISSF overcame all obstacles on the way to Tokyo 2020, and managed to fully comply with the qualification system for these Games. All 360 quota places in shooting sport were allocated on the field of play. In a difficult 2021, the ISSF, together with National Federations of Egypt, India, Italy, Morocco and Croatia, organised and successfully held five major

international competitions on three continents. All of them were covered by television, and viewers from all over the world were able to watch live an unprecedented number of finals - more than 110. Online, the number of views has reached more than one-and-a-half million and is growing. During the pandemic, we were able not only to hold and show all these tournaments but also to expand the competition programme with team events and mixed teams increasing the interest of the audience. This gives the prospect of development with one eye on future Olympics. Three mixed team events which are of great interest to the audience are already making

their debut at the Tokyo Games. This will allow us to fulfill the requirements of gender equality, both in the number of events and in the number of participants. We are proud that athletes from 100 countries will participate in our sport at the Olympic Games, which shows its popularity and positive development. Athletes will compete at the Asaka Shooting Range, showcasing the beauty and unique drama of shooting sport to the world. A year of waiting only heated up their passion to win the main award of their lives. I am sure that the shooting competitions at Tokyo 2020 will arouse great interest from fans and the TV audience.

Taekwondo

Chungwon Choue, President, World Taekwondo Tokyo 2020 will be a Games like no other. It will be a celebration of humanity and I am sure our fabulous athletes will inspire hope at a difficult time for people all around the world. We are grateful to our friends in Japan and at the IOC for finding a way to host the Games safely, and we cannot wait for the taekwondo competitions to get underway. At Rio 2016, the taekwondo competition made history as we were the first International Federation to achieve gender equality in the ratio of male and female referees. We also introduced innovative“Tech-wondo” competitions. In Tokyo, we are ready to build on this success and once again deliver thrilling and unpredictable matches. Taekwondo is one of the most universal sports and this is reinforced by the diversity of the athletes who make it onto the medal podium. We are also excited to showcase new innovations at Tokyo 2020. For the first time, a 4D camera rig will be used at the Olympic Games to bring fans even closer to the action and a new

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competition uniform will also be worn. In addition, mixed-team events will be held in between regular matches to showcase this exciting format. But, of course, when we talk about Tokyo 2020 we are not just talking about the Olympic Games. Tokyo 2020 will be a special and historic occasion for us as it will also see the debut of Para-taekwondo at the Paralympic Games. We have been waiting for this moment for more than six years and now it is nearly here.

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Para-taekwondo has developed rapidly in recent years and Paralympic audiences will be treated to something completely different to what they are used to. The best Para-taekwondo athletes from all over the world will put on an unforgettable show and demonstrate their breath-taking skill and athleticism. For us there is just one taekwondo. And at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, taekwondo will be the sport to watch.

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Tennis

David Haggerty, President, International Tennis Federation The preparations for Tokyo 2020 have been unlike any other Games with unique and significant challenges. However, the ITF has continued to take an active role, working alongside the IOC and the Tokyo Organising Committee, to deliver the best possible event with all of the necessary health and safety measures required. The Olympics remains a career milestone for many tennis players who talk of their dream to stand on the podium in Tokyo.

One of the exciting elements for tennis at Tokyo 2020 will be the significant home interest with Japanese stars Naomi Osaka, Kei Nishikori, Shingo Kunieda and Yui Kamiji among those dreaming of winning gold on home soil. While they have all experienced playing at the Ariake Tennis Park, it will be a unique experience when competing for an Olympic or Paralympic medal. The excellent facilities at the Ariake Tennis Park include a wonderful newly renovated stadium with a 10,000-seat centre court and a brand new court one. Our athletes will also be able to benefit

from a newly-built indoor facility which will house a second athlete lounge and a warm-up area. Elevating the position of tennis within the Olympic and Paralympic Movement remains a priority of the ITF 2024 strategy. The Olympics is an important event in the tennis calendar that, alongside the Olympic qualifying competitions, Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, presents an opportunity for players to compete in their national colours and under their nation’s flag. Playing for your country always produces special performances and we can’t wait to see what stories emerge from Tokyo 2020.

the teams of four (two men, two women) will be going all out over the super-sprint distance of 300 metres swim, 8km bike and 2km run. The mixed relay adds a whole new layer of excitement and interest for fans, but also another precious opportunity for the athletes to realise their dream of an Olympic medal. The racing is always unpredictable, the lead is constantly changing, and there will be even more opportunities for athletes from what may be considered smaller National Federations to earn a place on the Olympic podium. That it will have top billing on the middle Saturday of the Games, and that it offers an

entirely new team dimension to triathlon at the Olympics, means it will bring new audiences to the sport and is certain to provide one of the most talked about events of Tokyo 2020. Triathletes are resilient and adaptable in their nature. The sport they have chosen to dedicate their lives to is one of the most physically demanding on the Olympic programme. They are world-class across three disciplines, and the mental toughness of the 55 men and 55 women, and the dozens of Para-triathletes who make the Tokyo start lists, is what sets them apart.

Triathlon

Marisol Casado, President, World Triathlon Triathlon at Tokyo 2020 will see the always highly anticipated individual men’s and women’s events added to with the first ever Olympic mixed relay race. The transition and grandstand on the edge of Odaiba Bay is spectacular, the course is fast and the action will be non-stop. The individual events will be contested over the Olympic standard 1.5 kilometre swim, 40km bike and 10km run, and for the relay event,

Volleyball

Ary S. Graça, President, International Volleyball Federation The global volleyball family is very excited for the volleyball and beach volleyball competitions to get underway at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The past year has been filled with challenges that few of us could have foreseen, but we have worked tirelessly to organise safe and secure volleyball and beach volleyball events this year, such as the Beach Volleyball World Tour Cancun Hub events in Mexico and the Volleyball Nations League in Rimini in Italy. Our efforts have given athletes and the world’s strongest national teams the opportunity to compete in international events on the road to Tokyo 2020, ensuring they are ready to show the best of

volleyball and beach volleyball at the Games. Volleyball and beach volleyball are always among the most in-demand sports on the Olympic programme. At Rio 2016, the two disciplines combined were the most watched sports at the Games, generating 2.6 billion viewer hours globally, and I have no doubt that it will be just as popular, if not more so, at Tokyo 2020. As the Olympic birthplace of volleyball at Tokyo 1964, Japan holds a very special place in the heart and soul of the global volleyball family. Here, host country Japan became the first nation to win Olympic gold in women’s volleyball. Our sport captured the hearts of a nation and it remains, to this day, one of the most memorable sporting moments in Japanese history. I am sure the world will be watching to see

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if history can repeat itself at the beautiful Ariake Arena. For beach volleyball, we expect it to be, as usual, among the most fun and exciting competitions of the Games. Beach volleyball is often described as one of the most charming sports on the Olympic programme and we cannot agree more. At Rio 2016, 99.9 per cent of all available tickets for beach volleyball were sold, and we expect it to be just as popular in Tokyo. Above all else, Tokyo 2020 will be a much-needed celebration of humanity and solidarity following what has been a tremendously tough time for us all. Volleyball, beach volleyball and our incredible athletes will be front and centre of this celebration, ready to lift the spirits of millions through incredible sports action.

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I’M THE BOSS The IF Presidents look forward to Tokyo 2020

Weightlifting

Michael Irani, Interim President, International Weightlifting Federation As a doctor, I have seen first-hand the difficulties faced by so many throughout the pandemic, and the difficulties we continue to face. Clearly, Tokyo 2020 will be an Olympic Games like no other. With international travel having been so restricted, there is almost a sense of the Olympic Games of 50 years ago, when countries sent their finest young athletes as ambassadors, to compete in peace and friendship. Japan needs no introduction on the world’s stage and this has been billed as the “Reconstruction Games” after the terrible tsunami’s impact on Fukushima and the whole country. The pandemic has not diminished the importance of those things. The IWF is working hard to contribute to the success of Tokyo 2020 because we feel a duty to the Japanese people, as well as the athletes of the world. And for those athletes, often confined to training in their own homes instead of

competing around the globe, this is a chance to finally test themselves against the best in the world. When it comes to the weightlifting competitions themselves, it’s important to note that the bodyweight categories for both the women’s and men’s sides of the competitions will have their Olympic debuts in Tokyo.

We will be writing a new chapter in our sport’s history. From what we can see from the final list of athletes, we should expect medals to be won by a wider selection of nations than ever before. So, we are expecting plenty of wonderful surprises.

Wrestling

Nenad Lalović, President, United World Wrestling Women’s wrestling, which first appeared at the Olympic Games in 2004, will be the premier event in Tokyo with one gold medal bout featured each evening. Popular in Japan, worldwide interest in women’s wrestling has exploded since the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with a third of all wrestling viewers in the last five years tuning in to watch women’s competitions and highlights. An online poll of fans even suggested that

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Kyrgyzstan’s world champion Aisuluu Tynybekova was the sport’s most popular social media star. Transparency and competition integrity also remain at the core of wrestling’s mission. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, wrestling was able to ensure that 100 per cent of its competitors in Tokyo earned their Olympic qualification on the mat. Similarly, all referees went through a two-year vetting and trial process to ensure they are fit for the Tokyo Games. Those who will referee during the event will also be randomly assigned matches with additional

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assurances in place so there won't be any conflict of interest. On the mat, transparency has never been higher. All challenged scoring sequences, and subsequent rule interpretations and decisions, are now announced by the head referee, leaving no question as to why points were given, or changed, during competition. Recently, wrestling also introduced Blockchain technology to ensure all draws would be random. With the addition of the technology, all fans, coaches, and athletes can now independently verify all draws.

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ALL EYES ON...

THE NEW FIVE

In 2016 five sports celebrated wildly when they were added to the Tokyo 2020 programme – but the COVID-19 pandemic and the exclusion of two of them for Paris 2024 has threatened to kill the mood. Michael Houston reports as the new quintet prepare to take the stage.

record 33 sports will be part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics - five more than there were at the Rio 2016 Games. As part of a bid to stay relevant, the International Olympic Committee has reformed its programme, making the Olympics “event-based” rather than “sports-based”. Tokyo 2020 was allowed to suggest its own sports, and duly added five to the schedule.

Baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing were approved at the 129th IOC Session in August 2016, before the start of the Games in Rio. This gave the sports four years to prepare for their introduction or, in the case of baseball/softball, reintroduction, to the grandest of all stages. COVID-19 has of course meant it has not been that straightforward. Last year should

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have been the climax to a long journey, but everything was put on hold as the pandemic’s waves caused governing bodies to abandon ship and cancel or postpone events. When the IOC postponed Tokyo 2020 to 2021, it felt like a lifeboat for the five new sports which would have an extra year to fine-tune their preparations. However, COVID-19 has continued to ensure that it will not be that simple.

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MICHAEL HOUSTON JUNIOR REPORTER, INSIDETHEGAMES The pandemic has lasted a lot longer than any sports organisation thought it would and now could even threaten the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in February. The idea of the Olympics taking place in front of bumper crowds this year looked realistic in March 2020, but today is nothing more than a pipe dream. Despite the ongoing issues, the five new sports have continued their preparations for Tokyo 2020. Baseball/softball is no stranger to the Olympics and last featured at Beijing 2008 before being dropped prior to London 2012. For baseball, this ended a streak of five consecutive Games after its debut at Barcelona 1992. In 2005, the sports were the first to be voted out of the programme since polo was removed from the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. With an estimated 65 million players, the return of baseball/softball in Tokyo presented the opportunity for the sports to grow. But there was a huge blow in 2019 when Paris 2024 organisers confirmed they would be dropping the sports from its programme. Tokyo 2020 will therefore be an isolated Olympic appearance, and the lack of overseas fans in Japan means the occasion will not be the celebration envisioned after the announcement in 2016. Despite this, the World Baseball Softball Confederation will still hope to put on a show and has a great chance of returning to the programme on American soil at Los Angeles 2028. WBSC President Ricardo Fraccari said baseball/softball would play a pivotal role at Tokyo 2020 due to the popularity of the sports in Japan. “Baseball and softball at the LA 2028 Games would mark a historic return for our sport,” he said.

Karate will appear at the Games for the first time in the sport's birth nation. Photo: Getty Images

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“A gold medal match at Dodger Stadium would surely be one of the most memorable and iconic moments.” Baseball5 is a positive the WBSC can take from this Olympic cycle. It was first proposed in 2018 and only requires a rubber ball to play. Instead of a pitcher, the batter hits the ball with their hand, while the opposing team fields similarly to traditional baseball. This version of the sport is set to feature at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar in Senegal. If the situation in Japan improves before Tokyo 2020, expect baseball/softball to be one of the best-attended events by home spectators. With some matches taking place in Fukushima to highlight’s the country’s recovery after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the addition of fans could be crucial for the WBSC when it needs to make a lasting impression under more challenging than expected circumstances, in order to regain its Olympic place. Karate will also be saying “sayonara” to the Summer Olympics after Tokyo 2020, although it will also feature in Dakar. The Japanese martial art has surprisingly never appeared at the full Games, despite its universal coverage. Approximately 100 million people practice karate globally and, in theory, there is no better place for the sport to make its Olympic debut than its birth nation, at the famous Nippon Budokan. At the time, World Karate Federation President Antonio Espinós described his sport’s selection for Tokyo as a “moment of great joy”. But that joy has faded after the sport was overlooked by Paris 2024, and there is no future Games in a nation mad about the sport - like the situation the WBSC has with LA - to target as an obvious point of return. Karate’s first Olympic outing could be its only appearance for some time, and there won’t be a packed house to help leave a lasting impression on the IOC. “As we are heading to possibly the most important moment in the history of karate, we at the WKF endeavour to maximise all our opportunities to make the most of the Olympic debut of our sport,” said Espinós, who has hired a communications firm to try and “shape the narrative” at the Games. "The WKF intends to cause a sensation in Tokyo while maintaining our core values, and to do so we have put our heart and soul into reaching the Games at the height of our progress.” Karate was heavily affected by the pandemic, like all indoor sports. When Istanbul hosted the opening leg of the 2021 @insidethegames.biz

Baseball and softball will return to the Olympic programme for the first time since Beijing 2008. Photo: Getty Images

Karate 1-Premier League season on March 12, it was the first time an event had been held on the circuit since March 2020. After a 10-month hiatus, the WKF returned to international competition for the first time with a test event in Lisbon in December. COVID-19 prevention measures were put in place and, in the final days of what will be universally agreed was an awful year, guidelines for the return of the sport were published. As for the other three debutants, Tokyo 2020 will not be the end of the line as they are all set to return in Paris. However, first impressions are always important. When it comes to the IOC’s bid to stay relevant with youth, surfing and skateboarding’s inclusion are the clearest examples, along with breaking which will debut in 2024. There are approximately 85 million skateboarders around the world and up to 35 million surfers. Best of all, we might get to see IOC President Thomas Bach attempt to be cool by trying to do an ollie and talking about how he rides goofy. The IOC’s addition of skateboarding has been both welcomed and opposed by its community. After all, it is the counterculture sport. It first came to prominence in the late 1940s and 1950s in California when surfers added roller skate wheels to boards, initially known as “sidewalk surfing”. Misfits who have long raged against the machine are now hanging with some of the most affluent sports on the Olympic programme. The top skaters in the world are set to compete in two disciplines at Tokyo 2020 - park and street. The former is set in the traditional bowl shape skate park that you would find in any town or city, while the latter pays homage to the sport’s origins, incorporating an urban environment with fast-paced tricks and grinding. Like other sports, World Skate has been quiet during the pandemic.

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Its last major event before COVID was held in February 2020 in Melbourne - the Oceania Street Skateboarding Continental Championship. In June 2020, World Skate provided COVID-19 protocols to allow skaters to return to action safely and, in March, it gave an update on qualification for the Olympics. However, it is all a bit last minute. Just 13 days before the start of competition, World Skate announced Rome as the host of the World Street Skateboarding Championships, which took place in June. At the time of writing no host has been selected for the World Park Skateboarding Championships. Along with the Dew Tour in Des Moines, which took place in May, these three competitions act as qualification tournaments for the Games. “From Tokyo straight to the heart of Paris, skateboarding is proud to be a part of this new urban movement within the Olympics, and we’re excited to see the hard work pay off,” said World Skate President Sabatino Aracu. “Especially during these difficult times, we want to thank the athletes and our whole World Skate family for their heart and dedication, as we continue to show the beauty of skateboarding to the world.” The father of skateboarding - surfing - is also set to remain on the Olympic programme for the foreseeable future. If we forget about Tahiti hosting the sport in 2024, nearly 10,000 miles away from Paris, there have been some other important developments. The International Surfing Association filled its spots for Tokyo at June’s World Surfing Games in El Salvador, with men’s and women’s shortboard due to be contested.

Surfing is part of the IOC's bid to appeal to a younger audience. Photo: Getty Images

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Sport climbing brings a new vertical dimension to the Olympic Games. Photo: Getty Images

Even if the ISA has been relatively quiet over the past year - aside from the dispute with the International Canoe Federation over stand-up paddling - surfing has been making waves on the professional circuit. ISA events have been on pause, but the World Surf League restarted in April after a hiatus in 2020. “Our planning and preparations for Tokyo are fully on track, and despite the understandable and necessary restrictions, we are preparing for a great Olympic celebration that shows the strength of human resilience in the face of adversity,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “Tokyo 2020 will welcome the first ever Olympic surfers and they - along with everyone at the ISA - will join the global Olympian community to show the power of sport and humanity to overcome challenges. “I am so proud of the ISA’s dedication to making surfing an Olympic sport, and I can’t wait to see this dream being realised.” Sport climbing has been sitting back relaxing with a drink while other Olympic sports have been clamouring to fill their qualification spots. When the African and Oceania Championships finished in December, qualification for Tokyo was complete. The only blip came when the Asian Championships were called off, meaning places had to be reallocated. Although the IFSC should be rightfully applauded for its organisation, it is facing controversy in the build-up to its Games debut over the decision to keep Moscow as host for this year’s World Championships. Russia’s two-year package of doping sanctions mean the event should be moved, @insidethegames.biz

but the IFSC has so far insisted it has no other option. At Tokyo 2020 combined competitions will take place - crowning champions based on their performance across the lead, speed and bouldering disciplines. “Sport climbing’s Olympic debut may have been postponed by one year, but this means that we, and our athletes, are more ready than ever before,” said IFSC President Marco Scolaris.

Skateboarding's inclusion split members of the sport's community. Photo: Getty Images

“The Olympic Games have been a dream since before the IFSC was founded in 2007 and this year, we finally turn those dreams into reality in Tokyo. “We hope that our athletes relish the opportunity of stepping onto the Olympic stage for the very first time, and are optimistic that as the world watches from home, it finds joy in our sport during these dark and difficult times.” It is important to remember all five of these sports can be dropped from the Olympics at any time as they are not part of the core programme. That means it is crucial for all five to make an impact in Tokyo - to highlight their case for further inclusion.

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FIELDS OF DREAMS Although there will be fewer people in the stands, Tokyo 2020 still boasts an impressive portfolio of venues. Michael Pavitt talks us through where the action will happen.

HERITAGE ZONE Japan National Stadium There has been no shortage of talking points about the new stadium, most notably its design and cost. A design by the late British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid for a futuristic 80,000-seat arena was originally given the green light in 2012 before being scrapped three years later. Then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe pulled the plug after costs reportedly doubled from the original estimate of ¥252 billion. The new National Stadium will be the focal point of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the venue set to host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, athletics and football finals. It lies on the same site as the former 48,000-seat stadium which was built in 1958 and used for the Tokyo 1964 Olympics. The venue was demolished in 2015 to allow construction of the new venue to start.

A cheaper design by Kengo Kuma was selected in its place with the Japanese architect fending off claims his idea was too similar to what had come before. The delay to the process prevented the stadium from being used as a venue at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Construction work was completed in November 2019, with the bill coming in at ¥157 billion. The 68,000-seat stadium features a plantcovered façade, designed to “maintain

harmony” with the natural landscape of the neighbouring Meiji Jingu Gaien area. The eaves of the roof are made of wood from the country's 47 prefectures. Tokyo 2020 Coordination Commission chair John Coates described the stadium as “simply magnificent” and Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt was among several high-profile athletes to feature at an inauguration event in December 2019. The stadium hosted a poignant moment when Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee, a leukaemia survivor, held the Olympic Flame alone at an event held exactly a year before the start of the postponed Olympics. The six-time Asian Games champion delivered a message of hope after a year of uncertainty. After the Games, the stadium will be used for sporting and cultural events. It is located close to the Japan Olympic Museum, where Olympic cauldrons from Tokyo 1964, Sapporo 1972 and Nagano 1998 are on display.

Yoyogi National Stadium Formerly known as the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, the venue is one of three located in the Heritage Zone which were originally constructed for the 1964 Games. Basketball, swimming and diving competitions were held back then, but

organisers will make use of two arenas to host handball this year. Badminton will make its Paralympic debut here and wheelchair rugby will also take place. The Yoyogi National Stadium is famed for its suspension roof design, and has undergone a ¥20.5 billion refurbishment.

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Ryōgoku Kokugikan The Kokugikan Arena is one of the iconic venues of the Games, due to its status as the spiritual home of Japan’s national sport sumo wrestling. The third version of the hall was officially opened in 1985, but the original dates back to 1909.

Committee sport director Kit McConnell said he hoped boxers would embrace the history of the venue. "The venue is an absolutely incredible opportunity, particularly for boxing," he said.

Designed in a bowl shape to allow fans to easily view bouts from wherever they are seated, the venue also features a sumo museum.

"You can feel that this venue is more than just a sports arena, but is a celebration of sport and Japanese culture.

At Tokyo 2020, sumo will make way for boxing. International Olympic

"We feel it is a very special venue and we believe boxers will too at Tokyo 2020."

Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium The Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium is another of the legacy venues from Tokyo 1964, where it held gymnastics and water polo. Table tennis will be held here during Tokyo 2020, following in the footsteps of a series of other major events. This includes NBA basketball matches, the Figure Skating World Championships, the World Gymnastics Championships and concerts.

Nippon Budokan Nostalgia might be felt the most at Nippon Budokan, as judo returns to the venue where it made its Olympic bow in 1964. Karate will follow in judo’s footsteps as the additional sport makes its debut at the 14,471-capacity arena. The Budokan has become synonymous with marital arts, with its name translating to “Martial Arts Hall”. Karate will hope to avoid comparisons with Swedish band ABBA, whose final touring performance was here.

Tokyo International Forum Weightlifting and powerlifting competitions will take place at the Tokyo International Forum. Opened in 1996, the exhibition centre comprises of eight main halls of various sizes, exhibition spaces and other facilities. The structure features swooping curves of steel and glass, with an exterior design resembling an elongated boat.

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TOKYO BAY ZONE Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre The Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre is one of eight new venues built for Tokyo 2020, with the facility costing around ¥7 billion. Constructed on land adjoining Kasai Rinkai Park, the course is the first man-made venue for canoe slalom in Japan. Unsurprisingly, organisers have billed the centre as a potential “game-changer” for the sport in the host nation. The construction process was overseen by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and the

venue was completed in May 2019. The course received positive feedback from the International Canoe Federation and athletes after a test event later that year. The course is 200 metres long and has a height differential of 4.5m from start to finish. The centre also features a warm-up area and finishing pool. Organisers say the centre will be used for water sports and leisure activities after Tokyo 2020.

Oi Hockey Stadium The Oi Hockey Stadium is a permanent new venue, with International Hockey Federation chief executive Thierry Weil describing it as a “remarkable facility” which will boost the development of hockey in Japan. It features two pitches which will have capacities of 10,000 and 5,000 people

during the Games. The pitches are environmentally friendly thanks to sustainable hockey turf. Tokyo 2020 said the venue will be used for both hockey and other sports after the Games.

Tokyo Aquatics Centre One of the landmark venues for the Games, the Tokyo Aquatics Centre was the last of the eight permanent new facilities to be completed. The 15,000-capacity venue was finished in February 2020, with an inauguration event originally due the following month. This was eventually held in October following the postponement of the Games, while the Japanese swimming trials were held earlier this year. The Aquatics Centre cost a reported ¥56.7 billion and boasts a 50m swimming pool and diving pool. A moveable wall and adapting depth options are included as part of the design, which allows for the main pool to be converted into two 25m pools.

Artistic swimming, diving and swimming will all take place at the facility. The venue was thrown into doubt in 2016 when Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike suggested aquatics could be held at another facility amid concerns over rising costs. A reduction in capacity from 20,000 to 15,000 led to Koike agreeing to press ahead with the venue in Tatsumi-no-Mori Seaside Park, however. Domestic and international competitions are expected to be held after the Games, while the facility will be open to the public. Water polo competition will be held at the Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Centre, a venue built in 1990.

Yumenoshima Park The Yumenoshima Park Archery Field was the first venue planned as a direct result of the Games to be completed. It is located adjacent to the Tokyo Sports Culture Center and close to the Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome. The start of archery competitions will be held here, before the sport moves to a nearby temporary venue for the match play stages. www.facebook.com/insidethegames

The venue will become the Yumenoshima Park athletics field after the Games. Features include an artificial hill, which archers will face when competing. They will stand on a heat shielded pavement before returning under 130m of long roof shade, which has been designed to look like a bow. The venue is expected to be used by the public and host major competitions. The lawn will be used as a relaxing space as part of the park. @insidethegames.biz

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Ariake Arena Ariake Arena is another new venue which was impacted by Koike’s cost-cutting drive. Three possible options to replace the venue were proposed, with volleyball looking destined for a move to Yokohama Arena at one stage. Koike eventually confirmed that the arena, located in the northern part of Tokyo's Ariake district, would go ahead after claiming construction would cost less than originally thought. The venue reportedly came in at ¥33.9 billion.

Ariake Arena has a main arena and a sub arena, and a capacity of 15,000 seats. Its main feature is a concave roof which reduces the amount of indoor space, minimising the need for lighting and air conditioning. Volleyball will be followed here by wheelchair basketball at the Paralympic Games. After Tokyo 2020, the venue will become an entertainment hub for sport and culture.

Ariake Urban Sports Park The IOC hoped to recreate the environment from the Youth Olympic Games here - allowing fans to wander through urban parks and view competitions.

may be close to silence apart from the sound of BMX racing on its temporary course, and the sound of athletes landing tricks in the BMX freestyle and skateboarding competitions.

Coates even mooted the potential for the public to try out the sports for themselves after competitions.

The latter two events, debuting at the Games, will hope the location in the waterfront area of Tokyo Bay can lessen the blow caused by the lack of fans.

As it is, the Ariake Urban Sports Park

Ariake Gymnastics Centre Located a short walk from the Ariake Urban Sports Park and a five minute drive from the Athletes’ Village, the Ariake Gymnastics Centre is a modern sporting facility with traditional Japanese design.

Organisers say the venue has one of the largest timber roofs in the world, coming in at 30m wide.

The 12,000-capacity venue was built on an area previously used for timber storage, which inspired the concept.

The venue also includes 90m wooden roof beams and is free of steel framework. This allows the creation of a large open space without pillars in the centre of the venue. Crafted wooden benches have been installed for fans.

Timber was used for the roof frames, the main auditorium and the building’s exterior, which showcases traditional Japanese craftsmanship.

Initially due to be a temporary venue, organisers announced in 2016 that the building would remain for 10 years as an exhibition centre.

Ariake Coliseum Tennis will take place at Ariake Tennis Park, one of the main facilities for the sport in Japan. The venue has indoor and outdoor courts, with Ariake Coliseum serving as the centre court. The 10,000 capacity venue is one of the few tennis courts in the world with a roof. It is known for staging the Japan Open and Pan Pacific Open.

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Odaiba Marine Park Marathon swimming and the start of the Olympic triathlon events will take place at Odaiba Marine Park, which offers greenery, the ocean and views of Tokyo's skyline. The Rainbow Bridge will undoubtedly feature in television coverage from the site. Concerns have been raised over water quality, however, while start times have been brought forward to combat concerns about the heat.

Shiokaze Park Shiokaze Park will be the home of beach volleyball during Tokyo 2020. A temporary venue will be installed at the largest park in the Tokyo waterfront area of Odaiba. The park offers exquisite views of Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Bay.

Sea Forest Waterway Completed in May 2019, Sea Forest Waterway will stage rowing and canoe sprint competitions.

Ultimately, this did not happen, with the alternative venue considered more expensive.

The 2,300m course in Tokyo Bay is expected to become a regular venue for international events.

An inauguration ceremony was held in 2019, featuring a race between alumni crews from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.

Koike pondered a move to Naganuma, 400 kilometres away, as part of cost-cutting efforts.

Aomi Urban Sports Park The temporary Aomi Urban Sports Park will host two debuting sports at the Olympics 3x3 basketball and sport climbing. IOC officials visited a car park in 2017 and gave the green light for organisers to transform the site into an urban facility. Organisers hope the venue will help engage the world’s youth.

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OTHER AREAS Camp Asaka Olympic shooting will return to the Asaka range for the second time, following Tokyo 1964. A temporary facility has been added to the existing venue for this year. Located around 30km from the National Stadium, the venue is the headquarters of the Japanese Eastern Army. It is the base for Japan’s Military Parade and the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force.

Musashino Forest Sports Plaza The Musashino Forest Sport Plaza was the first new permanent venue to be completed for Tokyo 2020, although it was planned regardless of the Japanese capital being awarded the Games. Completed in November 2017, the facility has a swimming pool, a multi-use sports area, two fitness studios and a gym. The 10,000-capacity venue will host badminton, modern pentathlon's fencing round and wheelchair basketball.

Tokyo Stadium Modern pentathletes will head from Musashino Forest Sport Plaza to Tokyo Stadium for the remainder of their competition. The stadium is located in Chōfu. The multi-purpose venue, known commercially as the Ajinomoto Stadium, will also host rugby sevens. It previously hosted eight matches at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Olympic football matches will also be held at the venue, alongside Saitama, Yokohama, Kashima, Rifu and Sapporo.

Saitama Super Arena The 37,000-seat Saitama Super Arena, one hour north of Tokyo, was selected to host Olympic basketball competitions after a re-evaluation of Tokyo 2020’s original masterplan. Known as one of Japan's largest multipurpose venues, the arena has hosted a number of events including NBA matches, mixed martial arts, the World Figure Skating Championships and concerts. Saitama Super Arena was home to the John Lennon Museum between 2000 and 2010, displaying memorabilia from his widow Yoko Ono.

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Makuhari Messe Located in Chiba, Makuhari Messe is a large-scale convention centre with three major zones - the International Exhibition Hall, the International Conference Hall and the Makuhari Event Hall. Fencing, taekwondo, wrestling and goalball will all be based here.

Baji Koen Equestrian Park Original plans listed the main equestrian venue as Dream Island, an artificial island in Tokyo Bay. Changes were later approved for events to move to the existing Baji Koen Equestrian Park. The park hosted equestrian during Tokyo 1964 and is now a main centre for the promotion of horse riding and competitions.

Enoshima Tokyo 2020 originally wanted a new Olympic sailing marina to be built next to Tokyo Gate Bridge in Tokyo Bay. The venue was eventually confirmed as Enoshima Yacht Harbour, the location used for the Tokyo 1964 sailing events. Enoshima Yacht Harbour is located in Fujisawa and was the first Japanese harbour capable of hosting water sports. Several Sailing World Cup events have been held here.

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Kasumigaseki Country Club Considered the birthplace of Japanese golf after it was founded in 1929, Kasumigaseki Country Club says its guiding principle is "good fellowship, as expressed in the spirit of fair play, familiarity and trust in the members". The club, located at Kawagoe, was a late entry to Tokyo 2020’s bid book and was chosen over Wakasu Golf Links just eight months before the host city election. It was a controversial choice due to the club’s refusal to admit female members. The IOC and Koike threatened to change the venue which led to the club reversing its policy. In 2017, former United States President Donald Trump and Abe played a round of golf on the course with Hideki Matsuyama - later to become the first male Japanese golfer to win a major when he won the 2021 Masters.

Izu Velodrome Concerns over costs saw the IOC and International Cycling Union at loggerheads in the latter stages of 2014 as changes to the Tokyo 2020 masterplan were devised. Original plans included a mountain bike facility in the Sea Forest area of Tokyo and a temporary velodrome near Tokyo Bay. Former UCI President Brian Cookson said the governing body was asked to make the biggest changes out of any sport as a deadlock continued. The UCI eventually relented and agreed to move track cycling and mountain bike events to Izu, 120km from Tokyo. Upgrades were promised at Izu Velodrome, the first 250m indoor track in Japan. The off-road mountain bike course measures 4,100m in length with elevations of up to 150m. The UCI’s agreement to move was rewarded when madison and BMX freestyle were added to the Tokyo 2020 programme. Road cycling races will begin in Tokyo, before heading towards Mount Fuji and ending at Fuji Speedway circuit.

Yokohama Stadium Yokohama Stadium will host the men’s baseball and women’s softball finals, as the sports return to the Olympic programme. The 35,000-capacity venue is normally the home of Yokohama DeNA BayStars, who play in Nippon Professional Baseball.

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Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium The 30,000-capacity venue is set to host six matches in softball and one in baseball. Its inclusion highlights regeneration efforts following the destructive 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and the subsequent tsunami which left 16,000 people dead. The disaster also led to a nuclear accident.

Odori Park Sapporo was only due to host matches as part of the Olympic football tournament, but was abruptly announced as the host of the race walking and marathon events by the IOC in October 2019. The decision to move 800km north was made due to concerns over the heat in Tokyo. It caused rare public tension between the host city and the IOC, with Koike scolding the organisation for a “lack of consultation” before announcing the move. She labelled the IOC’s decision as “unprecedented” and said it was a “decision without agreement”. Events will centre around Odori Park in Sapporo, which annually holds the city’s marathon.

Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach Surfing will make its Olympic debut around 60km east of Tokyo in Chiba, with competition at Tsurigasaki. Around 600,000 people are claimed to visit the beach each year, to surf waves on the Pacific coastline. Concerns have been raised about the potential size of the waves at the Games, but surfers who have competed there claim the quality is consistent.

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Tokyo 2020 was intended to show how Japan has bounced back from a devastating natural disaster, and the capital’s Olympics in 1964 had a similar theme of recovery. Philip Barker tells the tale of a Games which saw the host nation return to global acceptance after years of war.

he final film made by Hollywood star Cary Grant, Walk, Don’t Run, was set against the backdrop of the Tokyo 1964 Olympics. Grant’s character, Sir William Rutland, finds that every hotel in the Japanese capital is fully booked because of the extra number of visitors in town for the Games. Because of the ban on overseas spectators, this is not a problem expected at Tokyo 2020. This year’s Games were intended to be an emblem of hope and rebirth after the earthquake and tsunami which devastated the coast of Japan a decade ago, and Tokyo 1964 had similar symbolic aims. Japan’s first home Olympics came 16 years

after the country was banned from the Games in London in 1948, for their part in the Second World War. An Olympic preview in World Sports on the eve of the 1964 Games described Japan as a “phoenix risen above the ashes of the atomic bombs - spiritually, economically and socially”. “Sport will add its accolade to the reacceptance of Japan itself as part of the human race, with the arrival of the tiny flame of Olympia, and the rising of the doves above Tokyo’s National Stadium,” the magazine continued. Six years earlier, Tokyo played host to the 1958 Asian Games in a new National Stadium which was built with the Olympics in mind.

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When the International Olympic Committee gathered in Munich the following year to decide the 1964 host, Tokyo beat Detroit, Vienna and Brussels in the first round of voting. The Japanese duly set about transforming their city. The stadium itself was enlarged, and new venues including Kenzō Tange’s striking National Gymnasium were built. Twenty-two main highways were constructed as part of what officials described as “a comprehensive plan for highway and road construction”. The city’s subway system was also extended. At the time there were few signs in English in the city.

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“There was one big problem to be solved,” Markus Osterwalder, the curator of a recent Olympic Museum exhibition on Olympic symbols, told insidethegames. “Japanese is almost unknown outside Japan. Who would be able to read Japanese characters? “It was vital that visitors should be made to feel at home in this megalopolis of a capital city. How should they communicate? They reduced the shapes and sizes to the minimum needed to understand the message.” The sporting symbols the organisers created, or pictograms, have been an important part of the Olympics ever since and there was also another major innovation. In 1962, the first global satellite - Telstar - blasted into space. This meant that for the first time, much of the world was able to watch Olympic events live or, at the very least, on the same day. Coverage was for the most part in black and white and there was a back-up plan to send recordings by air. The Olympic Flame was flown across Asia in a special aircraft called Spirit of Tokyo. There was drama when it was damaged en-route by a typhoon, but when it finally landed in Okinawa, then still under American administration, it was received with wild enthusiasm. The Japan Times reported that “tens of thousands of Japanese flags blossomed and shouts of ‘banzai’ echoed everywhere as the Olympic Flame arrived”. In Kagoshima, 30,000 people gathered to see 18-year-old Ritsuko Takahashi, the first Torchbearer who was a pupil at a local high school. The Relay was divided into separate routes as it journeyed through Japan, which were reunited once again as they reached Tokyo. The choice of the final Torchbearer, normally a closely guarded secret, had been announced some months before. “A youngster symbolising the new Japan should be picked,” organisers insisted. “He should be more than 1.70 metres in height and weigh around 65 kilograms. The runner should be a youth of good character.” Yoshinori Sakai, a student at Waseda University, “was found to meet all qualifications”. He was born 55 kilometres north of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the day the first atomic bomb fell. It had been agreed that the Games would take place in October. They opened on a sunny autumnal afternoon and the Emperor and his party arrived to “electronic” music. In his opening speech, IOC President Avery Brundage included words in honorific www.facebook.com/insidethegames

Tokyo was transformed for the 1964 Olympics as Japan sought international reacceptance. Photo: Getty Images

Japanese to salute the sovereign. "The Olympic Movement, with its 118 National Olympic Committees, has now bridged every ocean, and the Olympic Games at last are here in the Orient, proving that they belong to the entire world,” he continued. The Olympic flag was raised on a pole precisely 15.21m high, in tribute to the distance leapt by Mikio Oda, the triple jumper who was Japan’s first Olympic champion in 1928. Above the stadium, pilots from the Blue Impulse aerobatic team drew the Olympic Rings in the sky in a startling set piece. @insidethegames.biz

Members of the same team performed a similar display to greet the 2020 Olympic Torch in Matsushima. In 1964, judo was on the Olympic programme for the first time. When it was proposed, IOC minutes recorded that Japanese member Dr. Ryōtarō Azuma “supports this request and says how gratifying it would be were judo to be included”. The official Tokyo 1964 report said "it was decided that each contestant would be permitted to participate in only one weight category”.

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PHILIP BARKER HISTORIAN, INSIDETHEGAMES Competition was held at the Budokan hall, built especially for the Games, and Japanese lightweight Takehide Nakatani beat Eric Hänni of Switzerland to become judo’s first Olympic champion. The host nation also celebrated when Isao Okano won at middleweight and a third gold went to heavyweight Isao Inokuma. Fifteen-thousand crammed into the arena for the prestigious open final, where Japan’s Akio Kaminaga faced mighty Dutchman Anton Geesink for gold. The bout lasted nine minutes before victory went to Geesink. Only men took part in judo at the 1964 Games, and women were not admitted to full Olympic competition until 1992. Tokyo 2020 will have gender equality across the board. There were 5,137 participants in all sports in 1964, but only 683 were women. Japanese women excelled in another new sport, however. “Volleyball is rooted deep in the life movement of every organisation and community,” organisers said. Nichibo Kaizuka, a company team from an Osaka spinning factory, supplied the players for the Japanese national team. They were determined to win gold and duly obliged. Czechoslovakia’s Věra Čáslavská was a star in the gymnastics hall. She returned home with three gold medals and a silver.

Joe Frazier sends Vadim Yemelyanov to the canvas amid American and Russian boxing rivalry. Photo: Getty Images

In the pool, Australian superstar Dawn Fraser won 100m freestyle gold for the third successive Games, a feat never before achieved. Only 0.4 seconds behind came 15-year-old American schoolgirl Sharon Stouder, who set a world record in winning 100m butterfly gold. The teenager also won two relay golds, both in world record times. Her team-mates in the 4x100m freestyle included Donna de Varona, the 400m medley champion. American Don Schollander became the first swimmer to win four gold medals at the same Games. Individual success came in the 100m and 400m freestyle and he anchored two relay teams to gold. In athletics, Britain’s Mary Rand won medals of all three colours. In the long jump, her leap www.facebook.com/insidethegames

of 6.76m was a world record which has been recorded forever on a section of pavement in her home town of Wells in Somerset. The silver medallist was Irena Kirszenstein of Poland who won gold in the 4x100m relay and, under her married name of Szewińska, enjoyed a supreme career which included three titles from five Olympics. The Tokyo 1964 Games are often thought of as the last of a golden era, but the build-up was fraught with politics. Apartheid in South Africa had already prompted the IOC to threaten suspension “if the policy of racial discrimination practiced by their Government in this respect does not change”. At the IOC Session held in January 1964 at the Innsbruck Winter Olympics, the IOC voted that “the invitation to South Africa to compete in Tokyo is withdrawn”. Negotiations for a united Korean team in Tokyo had also come to nothing. When IOC chancellor Otto Mayer stood down from his role shortly before the Games, he reflected sadly: “My final wish is that politics should not be allowed to interfere with sport.” Another political dilemma also came to a head in the months before the Games. Indonesian President Sukarno had enthusiastically hosted the 1962 Asian Games but refused visas to Israeli and Taiwanese athletes. It put his nation at odds with the IOC and the International Amateur Athletic Federation, which both imposed bans. Sukarno retaliated by staging the Games of New Emerging Forces in 1963, but once again Israel and Taiwan were excluded. Brundage saw the GANEFO as “politically inspired” and those who participated were threatened with Olympic bans. His stance was supported by the Marquess of Exeter, the IOC vice-president and the head of the IAAF. Indonesians were banned from Tokyo and so were six North Koreans, including world record breaking middle-distance runner Sin Kim-dan. At the GANEFO she won the 400m in 51.04sec and the 800m in 1min 59.01sec, but neither was ratified as a world record. Considered a gold medal favourite, she arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and was turned away. In protest at her exclusion, the North Koreans withdrew their entire team. In the following days, Australia’s Betty Cuthbert won 400m gold in 52.00 and Britain’s Ann Packer won the 800m in 2:01.01. Both times were slower than Sin’s best. Although medal tables were and are expressly forbidden by the Olympic Charter, @insidethegames.biz

Yoshinori Sakai, born on the day the first atomic bomb fell, climbs a staircase to light the Olympic Flame. Photo: Getty Images

there was still a fierce rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union. Joe Frazier beat Vadim Yemelyanov in the semi-final on his way to the heavyweight boxing title, but Soviets did claim gold in three other weight divisions. Frazier’s compatriot Al Oerter defied a painful rib injury to win a third successive discus title. Barely a month before the Games, Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila underwent an operation for appendicitis but became the first man to win successive Olympic marathon gold medals. Tunisia’s Mohammed Gammoudi foreshadowed the rise of North African runners with 10,000m silver. The gold medallist was native American Billy Mills who clearly did not expect to win. “I’m flabbergasted,” he said. “I cannot believe it.” Durward Knowles, competing in his fifth Games, secured a first gold medal for The Bahamas with Cecil Cooke in the star class but the veteran was competing in a changing world, as one episode neatly reflected. At the Opening Ceremony, marathon runner Trevor Haynes carried the flag of Northern Rhodesia but, by the end of the Games, the flag of newly independent Zambia was seen to mark the country’s independence. The Closing Ceremony was brought to an end by a farewell chorus of Auld Lang Syne and the official report noted “a feeling of deep emotion with the completion of the Games”. On the scoreboard a message read: “Sayonara! We meet again in Mexico City in 1968.”

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g in k r o W to

change Japan

Para-athletes will be forced to wait the longest to realise their Tokyo 2020 dreams, but the Games will not just be about sporting prowess. Geoff Berkeley discovers that the event may be crucial to transforming Japanese society for the better.

ive years may have passed since the Sagamihara massacre rocked Japan, but the scars have yet to heal within the country’s disabled community. Wielding a knife, Satoshi Uematsu killed nine men and 10 women, and injured 26 others, at a care home for disabled people in July 2016. Residents were targeted in their sleep by Uematsu, a former employee at the Tsukui Yamayuri En facility in Sagamihara - situated 31 miles south-west of Tokyo. It was a harrowing incident, and one of the worst mass killings in Japan since the Second

World War. Japanese people are still hurting. “I cannot explain exactly what I felt that day,” Junichi Kawai, President of the Japan Paralympic Committee, told insidethegames. “Various emotions were in my mind. I was so disappointed and sad. It was a terrible incident.” According to reports, Uematsu claimed that people with disabilities were unable to communicate well, had no human rights, and that killing them would be good for society. Uematsu was sentenced to death by hanging last year but his heinous crime sparked a debate over the treatment of

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disabled people in Japan. A survey conducted by the Japanese Government in 2017 found that 84 per cent of people felt there was discrimination or prejudice against people with disabilities. During the Uematsu trial, it was agreed by the Yokohama District Court that the names of those who had been killed or injured would not be revealed, on the request of family members who feared the victims or themselves would be discriminated against. “The image of people with a disability in Japan was that they cannot do things, so it was a negative one,” said Kawai.

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Tokyo 2020 could change perceptions of people with a disability in Japan. Photo: Getty Images

“A few years ago, families did not allow people with a disability to go out and there was segregation in education. “Children with a disability would go to a special needs school and those old cultures may still influence people’s attitudes in Japan now.” Kawai believes the awarding of the Olympics and Paralympics to Tokyo in September 2013 proved to be a seismic moment for disabled people in the country. He said it helped put their needs higher on the Government’s agenda and led to a series of reforms. “Before 2013, it was deemed okay if the schools were not accessible,” said Kawai. “Schools will be used for evacuation during a disaster so they should be accessible, and that was made law. “Another law was that the employee rate for people with a disability should be higher.” International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons has also witnessed a shift in how Para-sport is viewed in Japan over the past eight years. “I remember when we started this journey in 2013 and Para-sport was not under the Ministry of Sport,” the Brazilian told insidethegames. “It was under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Human Rights. “Since Japan got the Games, it has moved to sport so there was a shift in the understanding.” Parsons knows how much of an impact staging a Games can have on the host country, having been the head of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee during Rio 2016. www.facebook.com/insidethegames

The Brazilian said the main focus was making transport and infrastructure in Rio de Janeiro more accessible, but he believes the mission is completely different in Tokyo. “Japan is very advanced when it comes to infrastructure and accessibility, especially in Tokyo,” he said. “It is about changing the mindset of the Japanese population towards people with a disability. “Because there is often an angle of super protection, trying to make sure that a person with a disability stays at home, is protected and they are benefiting from a safe environment. “At the end of the day, they need to be given opportunities to be active citizens, so accessibility is a way to achieve that. “If accessibility is there, they can move around freely, but they are not in the labour market and active parts of Japanese society. That is not inclusion. “Our main goal here is to change the mindset and perception the Japanese society has on people with a disability, because when you have done that you can start changing the reality. “When you focus on the kids and youth, the next generation of decision-makers in Japan will have a different understanding of people with a disability.” Education is key to the IPC and JPC succeeding with their goal of changing perceptions in Japan. In February 2017, the IPC and its development arm - the Agitos Foundation launched a project called “I’mPOSSIBLE”. @insidethegames.biz

It was designed as a toolkit of resources aimed at engaging with young people between the ages of six and 12. The Nippon Foundation Paralympic Support Centre and the IPC, in collaboration with Tokyo 2020, have supported the rollout of the scheme with educational materials distributed to public and private primary schools in Japan for free. Kawai confirmed about 36,000 schools had benefitted from the I’mPOSSIBLE programme. “I’mPOSSIBLE is going to be important in changing Japanese society,” said Kawai. “Last year, Paralympic education was included in the teachers’ guidebook by the Japanese Government. “I’mPOSSIBLE will continue to go out to all the Japanese schools so that the young generation can change the perception of a person with a disability. “We also use SMS to spread information about Paralympic sport, and we arranged to send our athletes to schools near the venues of the Japan Para Championship. “Children can learn, talk to athletes and gain interest in Paralympic sport and the athletes, and their clubs will go to the competition to watch the actual Games.” Excitement for the Olympics and Paralympics was building in Japan before the COVID-19 pandemic forced organisers to put

Swimming hero Junichi Kawai now leads the Japan Paralympic Committee. Photo: Getty Images

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their plans on hold and work out how to stage the Games against the backdrop of a global health crisis. The IPC joined forces with the International Olympic Committee, Tokyo 2020, the Japanese Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to put together a package of measures to help combat the spread of coronavirus. Under the guidelines set out in the Tokyo 2020 playbooks, athletes will be expected to be tested daily, wear masks at all times except when competing, wash hands regularly, avoid physical contact, steer clear of crowds and clap rather than sing or chant when supporting their team-mates. However, organisers have agreed to adapt the rules for some Paralympic sports, including cycling and five-a-side football, where pilots and coaches will be allowed to shout instructions to visually impaired athletes. People will also be permitted to temporarily remove their masks to speak to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound and facial expressions to communicate. Parsons insists the COVID-19 countermeasures will be “enhanced” for the Paralympics, with additional medical assistance in place to support disabled participants. “The data we have and all the research shows that Paralympians do not have a higher susceptibility [to catching coronavirus],” he said. “But due to the level of disability of some of our athletes, if they do get the virus it could get more severe. “We are offering them the same level of protection as any other athlete because we cannot offer more than that, the ultimate level. “But the medical response will have to be very quick and focused. “We have all these athletes mapped out, we know where they are and we know the nature of their disabilities.” The biggest defence against COVID-19 will be vaccines, and the IPC estimates around 60 per cent of people inside the Athletes’ Village will be immunised. Parsons hopes this figure will increase after the IOC and IPC struck a deal with vaccine developer Pfizer-BioNtech, to donate doses to National Paralympic Committees. Tokyo 2020 organisers have faced fierce opposition from Japanese citizens over the staging of the Games, with some medical professionals claiming it could lead to a new strain of the virus. But Kawai believes the rollout of the vaccination programme will help to change public opinion. www.facebook.com/insidethegames

The I'mPOSSIBLE education campaign is seen as crucial in delivering the Paralympic message to Japanese society. Photo: Getty Images

“It is very important for Japanese people to know that most of the athletes and officials who will participate at Tokyo 2020 will be vaccinated,” he said. “The Japanese people will be relieved to know that, and a safe and secure situation will be provided during Games time.” Scheduled to run from August 24 to September 5, around 4,400 athletes will compete across 22 sports at the Paralympics. Badminton and taekwondo will both make their Paralympic debuts after replacing sailing and seven-a-side football on the programme. Taekwondo will be the second combat sport to feature at the Paralympics, after judo was introduced in 1988 for visually impaired athletes. Parsons believes the inclusion of taekwondo will help break down more barriers for disabled people. “There is a taboo that people with a disability should not do combat sports,” he said. “[People may say] athletes with a disability cannot be in combat sports. “We did it with judo, although only for the visually impaired. Now with taekwondo, physically impaired athletes will kick each other in the face. “It changes the way people see the person with a disability. I am really excited to see taekwondo.

The addition of taekwondo means a second combat sport will be contested at the Paralympics. Photo: Getty Images

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“There is this wow effect when you see athletes turning and giving a high kick with no arms. “You can see their balance, speed and power. It’s an amazing sport.” Kawai lost his sight at the age of 15 after suffering with a condition where tissue around the eye is missing from birth. But he refused to let his disability hold him back, and went on to etch his name into Paralympic history by winning five gold, nine silver and seven bronze medals in swimming. Kawai will now lead the Japanese team into a home Paralympics where athletes will be expected to deliver success. The JPC President hopes the country’s Paralympic stars will remain in the public eye once the Games are over. “We really wish the profile of our athletes will go up after the Games,” said Kawai. “In order to realise this situation, the JPC has developed a strategic plan until 2030. “One of the main targets is athlete development. It is not only about the development of their performance but their maturity as human beings. “Their efforts, experience and endurance can increase their profile so we would like to educate them to be role models in society. “I believe these Games will be the opportunity to transform Japan. “I am sure there will be lots of emotion at the Opening Ceremony, but the Closing Ceremony will be more emotional. “If I can close the Paralympics, it means the world can unite to realise that such an event can happen against COVID-19. “This is not about the winning or losing and the number of medals, but everyone being the winners. “This friendship and unity can be showed to the world.”

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Swimming at the

top table

Kirsty Coventry has chaired the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission during a time when the body has faced regular criticism. Liam Morgan speaks to the swimming champion, who is tipped for a bright IOC future, as her term comes to an end.

ut of touch”, “on the wrong side of history” and producing a survey with “pre-cooked” results. These are all allegations that have been levelled at the International Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission, a much-derided body which rivals the Executive Board in the criticism stakes, in recent months. The Commission has been led through arguably its most turbulent period by Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry, whose term at the helm concludes at the end of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Top of Coventry’s in-tray in her lucrative IOC role - she is also Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister - before the postponement of the Games had been the discussion, debate and - at times diatribe surrounding the controversial Rule 50, which prohibits athletes from protesting on the podium or field of play.

Kirsty Coventry won two Olympic gold medals in the pool and is now at the centre of sports governance. Photo: Getty Images

Amid a rise in athlete activism - a hot topic in the Olympic Movement and beyond, particularly since the murder of George Floyd in the United States last year - the Athletes’ Commission embarked on an 11-month process to determine whether the rule should be kept. At the end of the consultation, which included a survey responded to by more than 3,500 athletes, the stance will remain, although there were recommendations to clarify sanctions and provide more areas for competitors to express their views. Frequent critics of the Athletes’ Commission would have sarcastically raised their eyebrows and expressed mock surprise when the results were announced in a detailed report in April. After all, IOC President Thomas Bach had stated publicly his wish for the Olympics not to become a “marketplace of

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demonstrations”, leading some to allege the outcome had been pre-determined before the process had even begun. But Coventry, a two-time Olympic champion in swimming who was elected chair of the Commission in 2018, believes such claims are “not fair at all”. “We did not know how this was going to go so I think it is really unfair to say it was pre-cooked,” she said. “It is a cheap shot - it is going to get some people stirred up but when you look into the work that we did, the report speaks for itself. “We went out of our way to engage with everyone. We had individual and continental calls with Athlete Commissions, we did our own survey and we took the surveys from other Commissions into account. “At the beginning, when we laid out our plan, there was not that much negativity. Then when the results started coming out from certain

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LIAM MORGAN CHIEF SENIOR REPORTER, INSIDETHEGAMES

launched in 2019, said its stance was based on consultation with experts. Coventry said the organisation had “turned down” a request for their respective experts to “sit down and talk to each other”. “For me that is not being constructive,” Coventry added. “We can’t continually give and give and only be attacked negatively when there is no constructive criticism.” Whatever side of the argument you sit on, everyone can agree the Rule 50 issue is a complex one. You have some who feel preventing athletes from protesting on the podium or field of play at an Olympic venue is depriving competitors of their human rights, while others believe such areas of the Games should be sacrosanct. There are also causes which the IOC itself would support, such as anti-racism and human rights. “There is not only one specific cause,” Coventry said. “I very much believe in standing in solidarity as 10,000 athletes against non-discrimination is way more impactful than trying to decide whose cause is greater. “We are not there to say your cause is greater or better than the person next to you. “I also don’t know how we would protect athletes who don’t come from as open societies. As the Olympic Movement, we have to protect everyone the same way. “We have to try to be able to have moments where we collectively are fighting for equalities and non-discrimination and

countries, you started seeing negativity. “It was almost like ‘well we have seen this is not going to go our way so we need to attack in a different way’. “I very much disagree with some of those comments, especially because the same organisations had an opportunity to engage with us and they didn’t.” Chief among the critics, which included a spate of Olympians, was Global Athlete, which said the recommendation to keep Rule 50 was “another sign of an outdated sport system that continues to suppress athletes’ fundamental rights” and claimed the research methodology was “both leading and flawed”. The World Players Association said it was tantamount to “censorship” of athletes’ rights and “brazenly ignores the courageous acts of athlete activists both today and in the history of the Olympic Movement”. Global Athlete, an advocacy group www.facebook.com/insidethegames

As chair of the IOC Athletes' Commission, Kirsty Coventry has had to fend off plenty of criticism. Photo: Getty Images

messages of solidarity, because that is how you live at an Olympic Games. “You live with 206 other countries in an atmosphere that is intense and stressful, but everyone is peaceful. I would hate to see that being changed because we all know there are certain countries who would take those political opportunities. So how do we protect that and protect those athletes who wouldn’t have a voice at home?” In some ways, keeping the ban on podium protests makes it more likely that an athlete will demonstrate when they are not supposed to. “Does it make it more enticing? Maybe,” Coventry says. “It’s human nature. “It is like telling a two-year-old ‘don’t touch that’ and then they touch it. “It is human nature to push boundaries but at the same time athletes also like to know rules and regulations. That discipline is why a lot of us get into sport.

Canadian ice hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser was ticked off for not consulting the IOC before calling for Tokyo 2020 to be cancelled. Photo: Getty Images

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Top Left: Fifty-three years after the famous protest made by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in Mexico, athlete activism at the Games remains a key issue. Photo: Getty Images Bottom Right: Slovakian shooter Danka Barteková has been tipped to take over as IOC Athletes' Commission chair. Photo: Getty Images

“Athletes would like to know what’s what rather than not really knowing what the consequences might be.” Those very consequences will prove a thorny issue for the IOC. You would be hard pressed to find someone who believes punishing an athlete for speaking out or protesting injustice, be it racial or otherwise, is appropriate. Yet that is the route the IOC and the Athletes’ Commission has chosen to pursue, with sanctions set to be determined by the organisation’s Legal Affairs Commission. This is despite the fact some countries, such as the United States, have been adamant that they will not punish athletes for such acts at Tokyo 2020. John Carlos and Tommie Smith were on the end of severe punishments at Mexico City 1968, where they were thrown out of the Games for their famous podium protest before they were later - some might say too late - recognised for their gesture. So is the IOC on the wrong side of history here? “I don’t think so,” said Coventry. “We have to continue listening to everyone, we are a global movement and so we have to be able to show that. “We can’t just pick and choose which individuals or countries to listen to at one time - we have to make decisions in a global way for everyone at the time that we are in right now. www.facebook.com/insidethegames

“That solidarity and where everyone is treated equally is one of the things I love about the Movement. “We have to make the most fair and equal decisions to make sure that messaging continues.” The decision to maintain Rule 50 only fuelled the fire of those who allege the Athletes’ Commission is too closely aligned to the leadership and is merely an extension of the administration. Supporters of this view point to how member Hayley Wickenheiser was criticised for not contacting the IOC first when she broke rank and called for Tokyo 2020 not to go ahead last year. Coventry has a seat on the Executive Board by virtue of her position as chair, which some see as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, she represents athletes at the highest table, but that position invariably means criticism or going against Bach is unlikely. “We have worked extremely hard to have good relations with the leadership so that our programmes get pushed through,” the 37-year-old said. “We’re doing what needs to be done. “This is the case in any big organisation. You have to be able to talk to the leadership and the IOC members and let them know what athletes’ views are. “If people outside of that see that in a negative way, that’s their view. But I think we @insidethegames.biz

have really gained a lot of respect within the organisation. “Critics will always be critical, and I think it is good to listen to those things. Take those that are going to make you better and leave the ones which aren’t going to be helpful where they are.” Aside from Rule 50, tension with other groups and fighting off criticism of their stances on most issues in the Olympic Movement, the Athletes’ Commission has also been heavily involved in devising the strict rules all participants must adhere to at Tokyo 2020. The much-maligned “playbooks” paint a sorry picture of what the Games will be like for athletes, officials and media alike. Under the measures, designed to ensure Tokyo 2020 will be “safe and secure”, athletes have been told to arrive no earlier than five days before their event and depart no later than two days after, while they will also be banned from any tourist activities and even celebrating. Their friends and family will also be absent as international spectators have been barred as part of efforts to limit the number of people in the Japanese capital for the Games.

The build-up to the July 23 Opening Ceremony has been dominated by ‘will they, won’t they’ speculation amid concerns over staging the biggest sporting event in the world during a pandemic that has irreparably changed our lives. Much of the talk has focused on why the Olympics and Paralympics should not happen. The IOC, mindful of trying to improve the narrative and convince a sceptical Japanese public that the Games will be safe, sees it differently - largely for financial reasons.

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Athletics is about the fundamentals of what makes human beings amazing. Running faster, jumping higher, throwing further. This isn’t a ball game. This isn’t about scoring points. Goals aren’t scored, they’re achieved. It’s about pushing yourself to be the best you can be. No matter who you are, where you’re from, reach for the next level and aim for Your Personal Best.

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LIAM MORGAN CHIEF SENIOR REPORTER, INSIDETHEGAMES

Kirsty Coventry's IOC Athletes' Commission has been accused of being too close to President Thomas Bach, and simply an extension of the ruling Executive Board. Photo: Getty Images

But why should the Games go ahead, from an athlete’s perspective? “Athletes deserve their moment,” Coventry says. “Everything has been looked at down to every ‘I’ that has been dotted and ‘T’ that has been crossed. “Athletes understand the protocols. They would rather be able to just compete and at least have that opportunity rather than no opportunity at all.” During the Games, elections for the Athletes’ Commission are due to be held, with 30 candidates standing for four available slots, which carry the added incentive of IOC membership and all the benefits that status brings. Greek pole vault star Katerina Stefanidi, British triathlete Alistair Brownlee and Spanish basketball player Pau Gasol are just some of the names in contention. The IOC has confirmed the election will be held in-person as normal, with athletes at www.facebook.com/insidethegames

the Village voting between July 13 and August 3. Competitors will also be able to cast their vote at the satellite villages for sailing and cycling, as well as the official hotels for football and the marathon and road cycling events. Coventry is one of those leaving the group, alongside Australia's James Tomkins, France's Tony Estanguet and Sweden's Stefan Holm. Commission vice-chair Danka Barteková’s term is also up but she has confirmed she is standing for re-election and is the favourite to succeed Coventry in the top job. Reflecting on her three years as chair, the Zimbabwean cites the work the Commission has done on mental health, the development of toolkits, medal reallocation and overseeing financial grants of $10,000 to NOCs across the world as her main achievements. But her time with the IOC is not over yet. It is clear Bach and the Executive Board see a @insidethegames.biz

future for Coventry within the organisation. She will become a full member at the Session in Tokyo, which had been considered a certainty even before she was chosen to lead the Coordination Commission for the postponed 2026 Youth Olympics in Dakar. That could pave the way for an eventual tilt at the IOC Presidency at some point down the line. Bach’s Presidency is due to conclude in 2025, and while that may come too early for Coventry, seasoned observers have tipped her as one to watch. “We will just have to wait and see,” she says when asked about her future ambitions. “It has been a pretty incredible eight years of being able to work for athletes and fight for athletes. “The Movement and the Games have been such a huge part of my life for so long and I would love to continue giving back to a Movement that I believe has changed my life for the better in so many different respects.”

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MIKE ROWBOTTOM CHIEF FEATURE WRITER, INSIDETHEGAMES

Mixing it up The International Olympic Committee is championing mixed-gender events at Tokyo 2020 but is this good for sport or just a box-ticking exercise? Mike Rowbottom knows which side of the fence he falls.

obody really needs Olympic mixed events - apart from the International Olympic Committee. Having said that, maybe it’s me that’s wrong? After all, life itself is a mixed event. But in the Olympics? I mean, sorry, but what? Why? “Gender equality, stupid. Haven’t you ever heard about Agenda 2020?” Fine. Gender equality. Bring it on. Only why do we require a framework that’s the sporting equivalent of a fixed grin? Asked recently if the Tokyo 2020 Olympics could go ahead during a nuclear war, sorry, state of emergency, IOC vicepresident and Coordination Commission chief John Coates responded: “Absolutely. Yes.” But didn’t you notice how evasive he became when someone asked him if the Games could proceed without mixed events? The die was cast in 2017 when the first mixedgender events were approved for Tokyo 2020. The Games will include a 4x400 metres mixed relay in athletics and a 4x100m mixed medley relay in swimming. Other additions include a mixed relay in triathlon and mixed doubles in table tennis. IOC President Thomas Bach said the Games would be "more youthful, more urban and include more women". By the by, I think it would be interesting if, at some point in the future, the Games could become more “urbane”. We could then look forward to some laconic performances. Reacting to the introduction of mixed events at the time, Britain’s Rio 2016 champion swimmer Adam Peaty said: "It's something that would make things a little bit more fun.” Peaty was surely just being polite. Since

Mixed-gender events will be heavily promoted at Tokyo 2020. Photo: Getty Images

when have the Olympics been about fun? Citius, Altius, Fortius, Jocosus? Well I prefer it to Bach’s “togetherness” motto but it’s still a non-starter. Perhaps it’s just a hangover from watching Wimbledon tennis tournaments on the BBC back in the day. At the point when all home interest in the singles competition is over - so we’re talking the first week - our attention was then directed to the areas where British participation was still a thing. This meant the doubles, or, more likely, the mixed doubles. John Lloyd and Wendy Turnbull won two mixed doubles titles on the trot in 1983 and 1984. Yay! In more recent years, Jamie Murray has teamed up victoriously with Jelena Janković of Serbia and Switzerland’s Martina Hingis. And it has been fine to watch. It is a less serious and, at times, dare one say it, more fun event. Variants of mixed relays have been tried in athletics. They were part of the razzmatazz of Nitro Athletics which burst up and away like a single firework in Melbourne in 2017, with Usain Bolt helping to light the touchpaper. At the 2019 European Games in Minsk, I sat through many hours of European Athletics’ tailor-made Dynamic New Athletics format, which was put together to give the event a presentable vehicle for a track and field competition following the lowly fare on offer at the inaugural Games in Baku four years earlier. One of the high points on the opening day at Dinamo Stadium was the mixed 4x400m relay, where, after declaring their opening athlete ahead of the competition, team managers had the option of mixing up the

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order on the spot with regards to the male and female runners left. On this occasion, Slovenia went against the flow and played their male runners early, hoping to create a lead onto which their two female runners could cling. So it was that Anita Horvat brought the baton home first, pursued by five straining males. Nobody watching such a spectacle needs a rule book to understand it. It’s gripping, but it is a gripping novelty. "We have taken a really important step forward in terms of gender equality," said IOC sports director Kit McConnell on the mixed events. Important, perhaps. But a wrong step. If we are using words like “equality” in this context, surely there is a still a long way to go in mixed events. Yes, they tick the male/ female balance box but, beyond that, there is still a fundamental, perhaps unconscious, inequality within mixed events. Almost invariably, in whatever sport, they are biased against those who aren’t very good. How often do you see a real duffer picking up the baton on the track or touching in at the pool, all coughs and splutters? Isn’t the Olympics missing out on a trick here? The drama of a good runner passing over to a rubbish one? The tactics of when you run your racehorse and when you drop in your carthorse? It could be like an Olympic X-Factor. You know there will be good operators out there, but you will have the guilty secret satisfaction of knowing there will also be others, perhaps even thinking they can run well, who are demonstrably and excruciatingly useless. Finally, the Olympics really would be “together”. Actually, no. Just create more women’s events.

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The insidethegames.biz Magazine Tokyo Edition 2021

Articles inside

Fields of dreams

Mixing it up

Working to change Japan

Swimming at the top table

All eyes on... the new five

Previously, on the Tokyo Olympics

Introduction

The Tokyo Roller Coaster