Rings on the Horizon: Tokyo Summer Olympics hit 100 days out marker

After months of question marks, health concerns, event rescheduling, and general ambivalence about an Olympics being held in a pandemic, those famous rings are starting to shine a little brighter on the horizon.

The 100 days out post arrived Wednesday, a sign the Tokyo Games are just around the corner despite the many hurdles along the way.

“That little tiny blink of a light was really dim before and now it is getting brighter and brighter,” said Surf Canada executive director Dom Domic.

The Games are scheduled to begin July 23 after a one-year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A ceremonial conch shell performance was held Wednesday on Mount Takao as part of the 100-day countdown festivities. Olympic and Paralympic mascots participated in a commemorative ceremony in downtown Tokyo.

“So many days seem to be repeats of a previous day,” said Canadian chef de mission Marnie McBean. “But this one, there’s actually a marker on it that indicates that things have been moving forward.”

However, traditional Olympic hoopla will be muted considerably in the lead-up to the Games and during competition. Fans from abroad are banned and the usual hubbub will be tamed.

Hanging over the proceedings is that COVID-19 is still raging in many countries — including Canada — which is mired in a third wave of the pandemic.

Vaccination rollouts have been expedient in some parts of the world, middling in others, and virtually non-existent in some countries — including Japan. Vaccines aren’t mandatory for athletes to compete in Tokyo but many competitors may get shots by the summer.