DUNCAN MACKAY EDITOR, INSIDETHEGAMES
W
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.
Duncan Mackay Editor
We hope to see you again soon www.facebook.com/insidethegames
@insidethegames.biz
@insidethegames
www.insidethegames.biz
5
