- Reuters
No fireworks, little fanfare: Tokyo organisers mark six months to go
With much of Japan under a state of emergency due to a third wave of COVID-19 infections, organisers of the Tokyo Olympics will mark six months to go on Saturday with little fanfare, no fireworks and amid rapidly dwindling public support. Postponed by a year due to the pandemic, there will be no more delays for the 2020 Games, organisers have stressed, despite a recent Kyodo News survey showing 80% of people in Japan want the event either cancelled or rescheduled. On a two-day visit to Tokyo in November, IOC chief Thomas Bach expressed confidence the Olympic and Paralympic Games would go ahead but the public remains deeply concerned about hosting a gathering of some 15,000 international athletes amid a sharp rise in infections.
- Reuters
Japan privately concludes Tokyo Olympics should be cancelled due to coronavirus - The Times
Japan's government has privately concluded the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, The Times reported, citing an unnamed senior member of the ruling coalition. The government's focus is now on securing the Games for Tokyo in the next available year, 2032, the newspaper said. Organisers and the Japanese government have consistently vowed they will press ahead with preparations for the Games, scheduled to open July 23 after having been postponed in March last year from the original 2020 date due the to the pandemic.
- NBC Sports
Brittany Bowe starts abbreviated international season, hungry to return as queen of 1000m
Bowe will be in a month-long “bubble” surrounding two World Cups and the world championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
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