Thursday, 13 May 2021
The United States track and field team has cancelled its pre-Tokyo 2020 Olympics training camp in Japan over COVID-19 concerns.
The team was set to train in Chiba, the prefecture next to Tokyo, but cancelled the camp out of concerns for their athletes safety , according to a statement from the Chiba administration,
Reuters reports. It is a shame they have decided to cancel, but I believe they made the best decision possible in the current situation, Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai said in the statement.
USA Track and Field (USATF) confirmed it had told its athletes to seek other training opportunities at home rather than send them to a pre-Games camp.
Japanese towns abandon plans to host Olympic athletes for Tokyo 2020 Thursday, 13 May 2021
Dozens of Japanese towns have scrapped plans to host Olympic athletes prior to the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Games due to growing concerns over COVID-19 and local medical resources during the fourth wave of infections.
As reported by Japanese publication
Nikkei citing a Government source, 40 of the 500 towns registered to welcome international athletes and personnel have withdrawn their duties, which would see athletes based there for training camps and cultural exchanges ahead of the Games.
This comes during the latest rise in COVID-19 cases in Japan.
On Sunday (May 9), Japan reported its second-highest number of daily cases with 7,766, nearly matching the record high set in January.
Publishing date: May 13, 2021 • May 13, 2021 • 2 minute read •
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TOKYO Dozens of Japanese towns have abandoned plans to host Olympics athletes due to concerns they will overburden already stretched medical resources amid a fourth wave of coronavirus infections, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday.
Forty out of more than 500 towns registered to welcome international competitors had decided not to accept athletes for training camps and cultural exchanges before the global sporting showpiece, the newspaper reported citing a government source.
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Children in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, participate in a track and field clinic with Olympic medalists from the United States in January 2018. The city was expected to host Team U.S.A. before the Tokyo Games this summer. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
CHIBA The prefectural government announced on May 12 that USA Track & Field canceled its pre-Olympic training camp scheduled in three local cities over fears of athlete safety amid the pandemic.
Three cities in Chiba Prefecture Narita, Sakura and Inzai reached an agreement with the track and field organization in May 2016 to host about 120 U.S. athletes ahead of the Olympics.
Prefectural officials said the USATF s plan to have a pre-Olympic training camp there remained unchanged after the announcement of postponing the Tokyo Games last spring, and the government had prepared to host the team.