Nervous wait over Games’ fate
Tomomi McDonald and her daughter Jun may have tickets to the Tokyo Olympics, but they still don’t know whether the event itself will happen.
The Games are scheduled to begin on July 24. But with cases of coronavirus rising and organisers sending mixed messages about whether the event will be delayed, McDonald was preparing for the worst.
‘‘It’s not looking good to be honest,’’ she said.
McDonald’s family bought four tickets to the women’s allaround gymnastics final on July 30 after her brother’s name was pulled from a public ballot in Japan. Each ticket costs more than NZ$700.
Games organisers are only obliged to refund tickets if the showpiece is cancelled, meaning anything less puts ticket holders’ money at risk.
McDonald booked flights on Qantas travelling via Sydney using her credit card last August, but isn’t certain her card’s builtin travel insurance will cover an Olympics schedule change.
‘‘I just have to wait and see what the government and the International Olympic Committee [IOC] say, but my family in Japan say [the Olympics are] not going to happen because too many people have been [infected] and the government is not really controlling it well.
‘‘They think the government is hiding something and they have left things too late, like closing the schools,’’ McDonald said.
Should the IOC give the Olympics the go-ahead, McDonald would roll the dice, giving Jun – who is preparing to represent New Zealand at next month’s Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Tauranga – the chance to see the world’s best in action.
‘‘I would go if it’s on. I’m confident that I am super healthy and I wouldn’t get [coronavirus]. I am going there with my daughter and she is super healthy too.
‘‘I have confidence, but you never know. The thing is if the Olympics are on, they are sure it’s [safe] enough to go. I would like to go,’’ McDonald said.
About 3000 Kiwis have purchased packages and tickets to the Olympics.