© Copyright – 2021 – Athletics Illustrated
On Sunday, a test track and field meet was held in Olympic Stadium in the city of Tokyo. Wednesday, a test half-marathon was held in Sapporo, where the marathon and racewalking event will take place.
No spectators were present during the events.
Four hundred and 20 athletes participated in the meet, which included other sports. It was the 11th test event at Olympic Stadium to date. No coronavirus cases were reported.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe told the Associated Press, “We are very empathetic to the need to be fully recognising that communities around the world are inevitably nervous about many things related to COVID.”
“We take those concerns very, very seriously. The COVID protocols, particularly that World Athletics have developed over the last year and a half by our health and science teams who are extremely good at this, have consistently helped deliver events in a safe and secure environment.”
The Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike met with Coe at the meet. The two discussed COVID-19 countermeasures to be implemented during the Olympics.
Koike feels strict protocols are required for the safety of Japanese citizens, staff, volunteers and athletes.
The two observed the successfully enforced measures during the test event.
The two discussed the need for a strong sporting legacy post-Olympics. Rio and other cities all too often are left with white elephant facilities that can become derelict.
The Tokyo Olympics are going ahead despite some of the Japanese citizens asking for the event to not happen. However, the price tag to cancel is not worth the loss.
