Corona panic

Virus surge fuel fears 100 days before Tokyo Olympics

AWESTERN Japanese city cancelled the Tokyo Olympics torch relay over spiking coronavirus cases yesterday, fueling fresh fears about whether the pandemic-postponed Games should go ahead with just 100 days until the opening ceremony.

Even as Tokyo unveiled installations featuring the Olympic rings and mascots to celebrate the 100-day milestone, organisers face monumental challenges as virus surges.

Organisers have barred overseas fans and postponed test events, but they insist preparations are on track.

Cancellation is “certainly not” on the table, International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice president John Coates told reporters yesterday.

“The Tokyo Games will be the light at the end of the tunnel.”

For organisers, there are some causes for optimism.

The Olympic torch is on its way across Japan, despite being forced off public roads in the Osaka region where it was being carried around a closed circuit yesterday with the general public kept away.

And vaccination programmes

are ramping up in many countries, with some athletes already inoculated.

Japan won't require Olympic participants to be vaccinated, but the IOC is encouraging jabs and has secured Chinese-made doses for athletes in countries without access to them.

In Japan, sports events are still on, with crowd numbers capped, and fans have become used to virus rules that will be implemented at this summer's Games, including a ban on cheering.

North Korea's decision to skip Tokyo 2020 over virus concerns has not prompted a rush for the exits, with athletes mostly seeming impatient for a return to the international stage.

“These past 14 months have been very motivating for all of us,” five-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer Katie Ledecky said last week.

“Once we get there we really want to show the world all the work that we’ve put in.”

In Japan, a historic golf Masters win by Hideki Matsuyama and swimmer Rikako Ikee's comeback, just two years after being diagnosed with leukaemia, are offering a feel-good factor. AFP