OLYMPIC ATHLETES IN LOSING POSITION
Pressure mounts on top names not to compete in Tokyo Games owing to coronavirus fears, but they cannot seem to win either way
Rikako Ikee became a national hero in Japan when she earned a place in the country’s Olympic swimming team two years after being diagnosed with leukaemia, but the 20-year-old has come under mounting pressure to quit over coronavirus concerns.
The Tokyo Olympics are expected to begin on July 23 but the host city’s continuing struggle to contain the pandemic and the country’s slow vaccine roll-out have ensured the event remains hotly debated.
In a Twitter post at the weekend, Ikee addressed calls for her to step down.
“I think it is natural that many are calling for the Games to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic,” she wrote.
“I share your desire to emerge from this darkness as quickly as possible, but to put that burden on the shoulders of athletes is very tough. Even if you want me to oppose the Games, nothing that I say will change anything.”
Ikee also highlighted her particular health concerns.
“I have a chronic illness and, whether the Games are held or not, I live every day with the anxiety [of being infected with the virus] and becoming seriously ill,” she wrote.
She is not the only Japanese athlete to have addressed the controversy over the Tokyo Olympics.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka weighed in on Sunday while competing in the Italian Open.
“Of course I would say I want the Olympics to happen, because I’m an athlete and that’s sort of what I’ve been waiting for my entire life,” she said. “But I think that there’s so much important stuff going on, and especially the past year. I think a lot of unexpected things have happened and if it’s putting people at risk and if it’s making people very uncomfortable, then it definitely should be a discussion.”
Despite concerns about costs and disruption to life in Tokyo, there was broad support for the Olympics before the pandemic. That support may have lasted if vaccines had been rolled out earlier and infection rates were dropping, but that has not occurred.
Tokyo health officials confirmed more than 1,000 new infections on Saturday and Sunday. Experts have warned most new infections are dangerous mutations of the virus, primarily the N501Y variant, first reported in Britain, although there have also been a number of cases of the variants first seen in South Africa and India.
Experts have also warned of an increase in new cases in Tokyo. Many clinics were closed during the recent “golden week” national holidays but health hotlines reported an increase in calls. Calls were running at about 1,000 per day in February and March but peaked at 2,700 on Wednesday.
Even if you want me to oppose the Games, nothing that I say will change anything RIKAKO IKEE, JAPANESE SWIMMER
Japan has also lagged behind other advanced countries in its vaccine roll-out, with only 240,000 of its 36 million elderly citizens receiving the first of two shots by last Thursday, according to data.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was asked yesterday by opposition lawmakers whether the Games would go ahead even if infections spiked.
“I’ve never put Olympics first,” Suga said. “My priority has been to protect the lives and health of the Japanese population.”
An opinion survey conducted on May 7-9 by the Yomiuri newspaper showed 59 per cent of respondents wanted the Olympics cancelled as opposed to 39 per cent who said they should be held. Postponement was not offered as an option. Another recent poll by TBS News found 65 per cent wanted the games cancelled or postponed again.