No non-japanese at Olympic test event amid virus threat

TOKYO: A test event for the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for later this month that would have involved some non-japanese athletes is being revamped because of fear of the spreading virus from China.

It’s now limited to only Japanese athletes with the Olympics just over five months away.

The two-day test event opens at the new Ariake Arena on Feb. 28 and is relatively obscure - a Paralympic test for boccia, a precision ball sport similar to bocce and related to lawn bowling. It’s the first of 19 remaining test events before the Games open on July 24.

They will be watched closely, as will the start of the torch relay on March 26 in Fukushima, a prefecture devastated nine years ago by an earthquake, tsunami and the meltdown of three nuclear reactors. The test events may reveal what effect the spreading virus is having on Olympic preparations, and the ability of nonjapanese athletes to safely enter Japan. They could also shine a spotlight on Chinese athletes and serve as a reminder that the next Olympics - the Winter Olympics are in Beijing in 2022.

The deaths in Japan of three Japanese have been attributed to the fast-spreading virus.

“Obviously, that (test event) is going to be modified, but the test event will go ahead,” Tokyo spokesman Masa Takaya said.

The International Olympic Committee and local organisers have repeated the message for weeks: there are no plans to cancel or postpone the Olympics. This has happened during wartime. The Olympics in 1980 and 1984 were held despite boycotts.

In a statement by Tokyo 2020, it quoted the Japan Para Sports Association saying “the JPSA has concluded that further time is necessary to fully analyse the potential impacts” that the virus might have on athletes.

‘LONDON CAN HOST OLY’ London would be ready to host the 2020 Olympics if the outbreak of the coronavirus forced the Games to be moved from Tokyo, Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate for mayor of the British capital, has said.

“Given the ongoing disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak, I urge the Olympic Committee to seriously consider how London could stand ready to host the Olympics should the need arise,” Bailey said in a statement.