Olympic dreams have been shot down in Tokyo’s ghost town... but the spirit lives on
LET’S get it right, Tokyo 2020 is going ahead, in 2021, purely for commercial reasons.
Somehow, it was decided the pandemic simply could not be allowed to take an Olympic torch to billions of pounds.
And so, the Games go on and today’s opening ceremony will take place in a city that should be alive with friendship but will instead be frozen with fear.
One of the world’s most vibrant cities turned into a ghost town.
But just because the staging of Tokyo 2020 goes against the judgement of so many and against the wishes of the Japanese public, the achievement of every single athlete in simply being there should never be demeaned.
Forget the wrangling and ramifications for a couple of weeks, now is the time for the participants to take centre stage.
“Broken is the only word to describe the pain I’m feeling,” said Amber Hill, the 23-year-old, No.1-ranked British skeet shooter, forced to withdraw from the Games after a positive pre-flight Covid test.
That is what it means to take part in an Olympic Games. That is what it means when a cruel twist takes it away from you.
Don’t tell Amber (above right) these Games are shallow, undermined, discredited.
Don’t tell any of the 11,000 athletes who have made it to the Games, or to the 4,000 who will make it to the Paralympics.
There is an untold story of sacrifice and dedication behind every one of their journeys.
Through a parochial lens, there is Helen Glover (right), returning to rowing after having three children. There is Aaron
Heading, a trap shooter from King’s Lynn, who almost lost a leg in a motorcycle accident and is a volunteer coastguard.
Oh, and talking of mothersof-three, how about Charley Davison, whose nine-year-old, seven-year-old and five-year-old will be back home in Suffolk watching their mum represent Team GB in the boxing ring?
Every nation taking part in the Games have these stories – in their multitudes.
Will it be the same for these remarkable people when they are competing in empty arenas? In front of deserted water banks? On desolate shooting ranges? On forgotten streets? Of course not. But for all those competing, there is a constant. The next fortnight will be the culmination of five years’ sacrifice, five years’ hard work, five years’ mental as well as physical dedication.
A few will expect gold but all will have a common aim – to be the best they can be. Simple as that. If that means victory, great.
But if it doesn’t, as long as no drop of commitment has gone untapped, then fine.
You will not see anyone taking silver medals from their necks, that is for sure.
This Olympics will be like no other Olympics, we all know that.
But the Olympics, even these Olympics, are like no other sporting event. We have been right to question whether they should have taken place at all.
But now it is time to celebrate the dedication of every woman and man taking part.
Good luck to them all.