The stadiums and arenas are empty. The conversations are through masks and plexiglass partitions, the contact anything but “close”; visitors must spit into plastic tubes at regular intervals, while their movements are even tracked by smartphone apps that must be downloaded; the eyes of uniformed men on street corners–seem to have the main goal of preventing visits to restaurants or bars; and because only the top halves of faces can be seen, it’s challenging to tell: Is anyone smiling? All of this is the new Olympic norm for these originally postponed 2020 Games.
Can you imagine being an athlete there in Tokyo, having trained most of your life for this moment, only to be poked and prodded, being made to feel as if their presence isn’t wanted, barred from bringing family members along and asked to provide Olympian performances in empty stadiums lacking both atmosphere or electricity. Oh well–it is what it is! However, they’re making it work as best possible and they should be applauded even though many Japanese people didn’t want these Games to continue due to the cost and uncontrolled Covid numbers (as a result of the small number of local vaccinated Japanese people). Nevertheless, these Games were pushed through so that the International Olympic Committee could earn its billions from television rights. Money speaks loudly.
Personally, I have SO enjoyed the distraction these Games have provided these crazy days. Learning many of the athlete stories including their Covid training challenges and how much they endured in order to arrive and represent their respective countries at these Games–what dedication and focus–irregardless of race, age and gender–SO impressive! And get this–two Olympic high-jump friends agreed to share their gold medals due to a tie–who does that typically?
On another positive note, the International Olympic Committee has amended its ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ motto to include the word ‘Together’. Its President Thomas Bach reported, highlighting the need for solidarity during difficult times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. So now it reads: ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’. Much more powerful!
While in the past, long rides to far-flung venues on official Olympic buses were a dreaded inconvenience at most Games, in Tokyo, they are a welcomed respite, if only because they afford visitors a chance to see something of a country they are permitted to experience only through hotel windows.
Admittedly, the world only moves forward when we move together. In the Tokyo 2020 Games, we celebrate the strength, resilience and determination of Olympic athletes, to bring hope, unity and inspiration to people around the world.
And for the athletes, appearing at an Olympics is the culmination of a lifetime spent training hard, often in extreme adversity, in order to fulfil a childhood dream. For many competing this summer, this will be the only Games of their careers, and only the select few will get the chance to immortalize themselves as one of the greatest by becoming an Olympic champion.
Yes, these Games have and continue to be strange–but after 18 months of struggle against COVID-19, there’s nothing quite like Olympic Games to bring the world together–joy needs no translation! And yes, there are smiles behind those masks! We’ll take it!
Covid 19 Humor: I made the mistake of telling my husband that an early symptom of Covid is loss of smell; he’s taken to passing gas in my vicinity and when I react, informing me that he is helpfully “performing a health check”; he taught the children the technique; I may divorce him.
