This summer s virus-postponed Olympics could be held behind closed doors, Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto admitted on Friday.
Former Olympian Hashimoto said the Games could only be a success if organisers completely protect athletes and people in Japan, and that she is hopeful people will be glad the event went ahead.
Overseas spectators have already been barred from the Games, and this week a decision on domestic fans was delayed until June, with organisers citing a new wave of infections in Japan.
The delayed Olympic Games may now take place without fans, admitted Seiko Hashimoto
Dina Asher-Smith and the Great British medal hopefuls may compete in an empty stadium
South Korea begins vaccinating athletes against COVID-19 ahead of Tokyo 2020 Friday, 30 April 2021
South Korea has begun vaccinating athletes against COVID-19 in the build-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it had been in discussions with the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention since January over plans to vaccinate the Tokyo 2020 team.
An initial vaccination list was prepared and confirmed earlier this month, which formed the basis for the final vaccination plan.
Athletes will be given the Pfizer vaccine under the plan produced, which considers the vaccination cycle for each vaccine as well as the competition schedule for Tokyo 2020.
UPDATE 1-S.Korea athletes headed to Olympics relieved to get coronavirus shots Reuters 4 hrs ago
(Recasts)
By Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith
SEOUL, April 29 (Reuters) - About 100 South Korean athletes and coaches traveling to Tokyo for the Olympics received their first doses of coronavirus vaccines on Thursday, as the country s inoculation program struggles with a shortage of supplies.
Vaccinations are not mandatory for participants in the Games, set to run from July 23 to Aug 8 after being pushed back from last year because of the pandemic, but they are recommended. Getting this shot makes me feel the Olympics is truly around the corner, taekwondo player Lee Dae-Hoon said at a public clinic in Seoul, the capital, adding that he did not experience any unusual symptoms immediately.
Tom Burns (second from left)
Photo: Supplied, Tom Burns
Inspired by action movies, 19 year old Burns took up taekwondo when he was a young boy with the dream of becoming a Ninja.
Receiving his taekwondo black belt at the tender age of 10, it s fair to say he has been honing his craft for some time now.
Last year the Christchurch native sealed his Olympic qualification by winning gold in the men s under 68 kg division at the Oceania Olympic Qualifying tournament in Queensland.
After finishing secondary school, he moved to South Korea to further pursue taekwondo at Nazarene University in Cheonan, which is considered one of the top taekwondo institutes in the world.
IOC Refugee Athlete Sediqi seeking Tokyo 2020 taekwondo goal Saturday, 27 February 2021
Abdullah Sediqi, holder of an International Olympic Committee Refugee Athlete Scholarship, has spoken of his ambition to reach the Tokyo 2020 taekwondo competition this year.
Now training in Belgium, the 24-year-old from Afghanistan has practised taekwondo since he was eight.
He told the
Olympic Channel how he fled to Europe four years ago from his war-torn country after gangs had made threats against him because of his sporting ability. It was a gruelling mission, there were days I walked for 12 hours straight, he said of his escape.
Now established in Wilrijk, a neighbourhood of Antwerp, Sediqi’s results are offering real hope that he can earn a place at this summer’s postponed Olympics.