Tag: Tokyo 2020

One of those is 38-year-old Indian boxer Mary Kom, who is a six-time world champion but whose best Olympic performance was a bronze in London in 2012.
“We are in a situation that is beyond our control and against our wishes. Therefore we have to accept the reality,” said the mother-of-three.
“The empty or full stadium wouldn’t affect my bout and my performance though crowds and supporters make it interesting and thrilling.
“To me, the only thing that will be in my mind is to win the game and realise the long-cherished dream. The environment outside the ring is secondary.”
American sprinter Brittany Brown, the 200m silver medallist at the World Championships in Doha, said no fans would be “disappointing because this is every four years”.
“The Olympics is also a celebration. So knowing that your family and friends can’t be there is disheartening,” she said.
“At the same time it’s encouraging because you know that the organisers are taking proper precautions. It’s a weird dichotomy — you’re happy because they are prioritising safety, but also disappointed because you’re like ‘Gosh, I really wanted to share this moment’.”

Other track and field athletes agree they will miss the crowds.
“It won’t be as euphoric, but we’ll deal with it,” said French world record holder Kevin Mayer, who won the decathlon in Rio in 2016.
French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie, who won the gold medal in London and silver in Rio — where he infamously broke down in tears at what he called the crowd’s biased support for eventual gold medallist and home favourite Thiago Braz, said he had learned to compete without fans.
“We’ve had a whole season behind closed doors,” he said. “It won’t have the same flavour but… when you put 10 people on the start line, everyone wants to win, whether there is an audience or not.”
Germany’s brightest medal hope in swimming, 1,500m freestyle and 10km open water world champion Florian Wellbrock said he is “definitely in favour” of the Games going ahead, albeit in front of empty seats.
“The fact that athletes can show in races what they have fought and worked for all their lives is and, remains for me, the most important meaning of the Olympic Games,” the 23-year-old swimmer told the German swimming federation’s magazine.
Some competitors in less popular sports see stadiums half full rather than half empty.
“Most of us don’t compete in front of crowds,” Bronwen Knox, an Australian water polo legend who won bronzes at the 2008 Beijing and London Olympics, told the Sydney Daily Telegraph.
Both Engels and Brown lamented the impact of likely health rules on the experience of the 11,000 competitors.
“You hear about how fun the Olympic village is, all the stories about meeting new people,” Brown said.
“So part of the excitement of the Olympics is the experience of being an Olympic athlete that you’re thinking about, as well as competing and training. It’s disheartening that we won’t have that, but I’m sure there will be other experiences.”
Engels agreed.
“Obviously I need to make sure I make the team first,” Engels said. “But it will suck not being able to socialise as much in the Olympic village. I was really looking forward to going to basketball games and seeing all the other athletes.
“So it kind of sucks that that is not going to happen this year — but there’s always Paris.”