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Sebastion Coe, president of World Athletics is hailing the Tokyo Olympic Games as a success and has thanked the Japanese people for allowing the dreams of the athletes to “come to life”.
According to Coe, a record 83 teams reached finals, with 43 teams featuring on the medal podium and 23 of those winning gold. Which highlights the global nature of the Games.
Some 70 per cent of athletes only get one chance to compete at the Olympic Games.
Over ten days of competition, three world records, 12 Olympic records, 28 area records, and 151 national records were set in the Games.
“We owe you a massive debt of gratitude for your gracious hospitality, your professionalism and your friendship. You really have been simply the best and we thank you unreservedly,” said Coe.
The tally of 43 countries on the medal table is the biggest in athletics for more than 20 years, underlining the diversity and depth of talent in the sport. Across all Olympic sports at the Tokyo Games, 93 teams earned medals, so almost 50 per cent of those achieved their goals in athletics.
For 12 teams — Bahamas, Bahrain, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Grenada, Jamaica, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Puerto Rico and Uganda — athletics was their pathway to the Olympic podium.
In total, athletes at the Games covered a combined distance of 2,045,750 metres in track events and 10,737kms in road events. Field eventers threw a combined distance of 1508 metres and jumped a combined distance of 2490 metres.
