TOPLINE The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will not pressure China over its human rights record ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, a senior official said on Wednesday even as several human rights groups and some U.S. lawmakers have called for a boycott of the games over the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghurs and its crackdown on Hong Kong.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



While addressing the press in Australia, IOC vice president John Coates said confronting a sovereign nation on human rights issues was not within the committee’s remit.



Coates said that IOC’s remit was only limited to ensuring that no human rights abuses take place in respect to the conduct of the Games within the national Olympic committees or “within the Olympic movement.”



He further added that the IOC has no ability to go into any country and tell them what to do and all it can do is ensure that the conditions set out in a host contract are followed.



When asked about the IOC’s decision to intervene in Afghanistan—where the body said it helped around 100 members of the “Olympic community” leave the country on humanitarian visas—Coates insisted that was within the committee’s remit.



Coates also said he did not see any point in any country boycotting the games as such moves in the past had achieved nothing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



In May, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Games which means no official delegation would be sent to Beijing while athletes are still allowed to compete. Dominic Raab, the British deputy prime minister, has also indicated he will not attend the games even though his instinct is to “separate sport from diplomacy and politics.” Earlier this year, several western nations, including the U.S., U.K., Canada and the European Union,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56487162" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">imposed sanctions</a>&nbsp;on Beijing for alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China has been accused of detaining the region’s mostly Muslim Uighur residents in camps where they reportedly face torture, forced labor and sexual abuse according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">leaked documents</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://xjdp.aspi.org.au/explainers/exploring-xinjiangs-detention-facilities/#" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">satellite images</a>. Beijing has also come under fire for its ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/10/14/beijing-winter-olympics-ioc-china/?utm_campaign=wp_main&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Olympic officials won’t push China on human rights ahead of Beijing Games, as calls for boycott grow louder</a>&nbsp;(Washington Post)



<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-13/john-coates-ioc-rules-out-pressure-on-china-over-human-rights/100536494" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Coates rules out IOC pressuring China over human rights ahead of Beijing Winter Olympics</a> (ABC News)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Venue Tour

Olympic Committee Won’t Confront China Over Human Rights Despite Calls For Beijing 2022 Boycott

TOPLINE One person involved in the Tokyo Paralympics has been hospitalized with Covid-19, the games’ organizing committee announced on Thursday, an incident that takes place amid Japan’s worst surge in infections since the start of the pandemic which has severely strained its medical resources.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/08/6671facb7488-tokyo-paralympics-confirm-1st-covid-19-hospitalization.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According to</a>&nbsp;the games’ organizing committee, the hospitalized individual was a foreign individual but not an athlete.



The patient is not displaying severe symptoms, organizing committee spokesperson Masanori Takaya added.



The organizers also reported 15 new Covid-19 cases linked to the games, including two athletes residing in the Games village.



Since the start of the games on Tuesday, at least&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/26/paralympics-first-tokyo-games-participant-in-hospital-with-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">five Paralympians</a>&nbsp;have tested positive for Covid-19.



The event featuring over 4,400 athletes is taking place at a time when Japan witnesses its worst Covid-19 outbreak, fueled by the more infectious delta variant.



<a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/08/6671facb7488-tokyo-paralympics-confirm-1st-covid-19-hospitalization.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According to</a>&nbsp;Kyodo News, health experts have warned that the country’s medical system is close to a breaking point with hospital beds becoming scarcer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



184. That’s the total number Covid-19 cases that have been linked to the Tokyo Paralympics since August 12,&nbsp;Kyodo News&nbsp;reports.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and the International Olympic Committee (IOC)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dw.com/en/japans-pm-olympics-have-not-caused-covid-19-spike/av-58788340" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claimed</a>&nbsp;that the Olympic games, which ended earlier this month, did not aggravate Tokyo’s Covid outbreak. But health officials remained skeptical and tensions between them and the games’ organizers have remained high. The latest controversy has emerged around IOC chief Thomas Bach’s decision to fly back into Japan to attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympics. Bach, who left Japan on Wednesday night, was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/08/25/national/omi-bach-tokyo-return-criticism/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">criticized</a>&nbsp;by the country’s top Covid-19 advisor Shigeru Omi. Omi said Bach&#8217;s decision to briefly return to Japan ran counter to “common sense” as Covid infections continue to rise in the country. In response, the International Paralympic Committee said that Bach was invited by them to attend and his itinerary was approved by the Japanese government.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/08/6671facb7488-tokyo-paralympics-confirm-1st-covid-19-hospitalization.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tokyo Paralympics confirm 1st COVID-19 hospitalization</a>&nbsp;(Kyodo News)



<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/26/paralympics-first-tokyo-games-participant-in-hospital-with-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paralympics: first Tokyo Games participant in hospital with Covid-19</a> (The Guardian)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

Paralympics – Opening Ceremony

Tokyo Paralympics Reports First Covid-19 Hospitalization

A number of Africa’s finest sportsmen and women failed to make the Tokyo Olympic Games for a variety of reasons that in the most part had little to do with performance.



By Nick Said



The Tokyo Olympic Games were for some athletes the pinnacle of their career and a stage for outstanding achievements, but for others, the Japan National Stadium (the venue of the Games) will always represent a field of broken dreams.



A number of Africa’s finest sportsmen and women failed to make it to the Games, which was held from July 23 to August 8 in Tokyo, for a variety of reasons that in the most part had little to do with performance.



Amidst the ecstasy of winning a gold medal, there is always equal pain being felt elsewhere, leaving some of the continent’s top stars at a crossroads in their hugely successful careers. 



The most high-profile of these is two-time former 800-metersOlympics champion Caster Semenya, who failed in her bid to qualify for the Games in the 5,000-meters, having been forced into the longer distance by World Athletics’ regulations for athletes with Differences in Sexual Development (DSD) who wish to compete in races from 400-meters to a mile.



Athletes such as Semenya, Francine Niyonsaba from Burundi and Kenya’s Margaret Wambui, were forced into the sporting wilderness in their chosen distance in a ruling described by Come Damien Georges Awoumou, minister- counsellor at the Cameroon mission to the United Nations, as having the “same effect as apartheid, one of the international crimes against humanity”, which he said at a special debate on sports and human rights at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.



The latest to fall foul of the regulations were Namibian teenagers Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi, who were in blistering form in the 400-meters ahead of the games and seen as genuine medal contenders until World Athletics barred them from competing over that distance. Semenya is taking the fight, not just for herself, but all DSD athletes with naturally high levels of testosterone, to the European Court of Human Rights, who are likely to make a ruling later this year on whether the regulations should be suspended.



She has not given up on competing at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and there will be many other athletes from the global south hoping she wins.



“The ban doesn’t make sense at all. But hey, that’s none of my business. I’ll leave it up to the right people to handle the situation, I’ll keep fighting for my rights,” Semenya said in June to Belgian television after finishing fourth in a 5,000-meter race in Liège, Belgium.



“Of course I hope the rule changes. I’m an 800-meters runner. There’s no doubt about that. I keep hoping that I can run my preferred number (distance). But right now my focus is on being healthy. To be an inspiration for young athletes. I will continue to fight for my rights.”



Says a spokesperson at World Athletics: “For many years, World Athletics has fought for and defended equal rights and opportunities for all women and girls in our sport today and in the future. Throughout this long battle, World Athletics has always maintained that its regulations are lawful and legitimate, and that they represent a reasonable, necessary and proportionate means of ensuring the rights of all female athletes to participate on fair and equal terms. It has rejected the suggestion that they infringe any athlete’s human rights, including the right to dignity and the right to bodily integrity.”



Kenya’s David Rudisha, regarded as the greatest 800-meters runner in history and a double-Olympic champion in 2012 and 2016, missed the Tokyo Games after a succession of injury setbacks.



He was desperate to compete but had not run since 2017 following ankle, leg and back injuries, as well as a serious car accident in which his SUV was written off when he collided head-on with a bus in Nairobi.



His race to be fit and in shape to fight for a gold medal was hampered, in part, by the Covid-19 pandemic, which meant limited training and competition.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large">Covid-19 ruled Nigerian basketball star Michael Eric out of the Games after he admitted to battling with the after- effects of the virus.</blockquote>



Two of Kenya’s other current greats were also high- profile absentees as world 1,500-meters champion Timothy Cheruiyot and 2016 Olympic 3000-meters steeplechase winner Conseslus Kipruto both failed to make the team.



At the Kenyan trials, Cheruiyot, who had not finished worse than second in any race for four years, was passed down the final straight and finished fourth to drop out of contention.



Kipruto won the World Championship titles in 2017 and 2019, but soon after the second of those wins, was reportedly charged with sexual assault and has entered just three races since, without finishing any of them. Neither have commented on their futures.



South African long-jump silver medalist from the 2016 Games, Luvo Manyonga, a self-confessed former methamphetamine addict who missed the 2012 Olympics because of an 18-month drugs ban, cleaned up his act to be one of South Africa’s stars at the Games in Rio de Janeiro five years ago. But he was handed a four-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in June after missing three scheduled drugs tests having not provided details of his whereabouts as required by the AIU.



Covid-19 ruled Nigerian basketball star Michael Eric out of the Games after he admitted to battling with the after- effects of the virus, saying “my health and physical shape went through a traumatic experience”. It shone a spotlight on the effects the virus has on athletes’ bodies, and how it is not just performance that can suffer, but confidence too.



And then there were some who were simply not released by their employers to compete – among the most high-profile of these being Liverpool and Egypt striker Mo Salah.



He was desperate to feature at the Games, but Liverpool reportedly refused to allow him to travel as it would have meant a disrupted pre-season and start to the new English Premier League campaign.

Ian MacNicol Archive

If Not Tokyo, Then Paris 2024?

TOPLINE Tokyo 2020 has the <a href="https://www.outsports.com/olympics/2021/7/12/22565574/tokyo-summer-olympics-lgbtq-gay-athletes-list" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">highest</a> number of openly LGBTQ+ competitors ever, counting more out athletes than all previous Summer and Winter Olympic Games combined and featuring the first openly transgender and nonbinary athletes to participate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



British diver Tom Daley won&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/26/tom-daley-wins-olympic-diving-gold-at-last-in-synchronised-10m-platform" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gold</a>&nbsp;in the men’s synchronized 10 meter platform and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/26/tom-daley-overwhelmed-after-winning-olympic-gold-with-matty-lee-diving" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;he felt “incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion” after not believing he could “achieve anything because of who” he was as a child.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Skateboarder Alana Smith said they were “proud” of achieving their goal of being “a visual representation for humans like me” after being the first openly nonbinary person to represent Team USA.



The International Olympic Committee said it was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/08/02/olympic-officials-face-off-over-protest-rules-as-us-backs-shot-putter-raven-saunders-in-podium-demonstration/?sh=4d25c21a4252">investigating</a>&nbsp;gay Team USA shot put silver medallist Raven Saunders after she raised her hands in a cross on the podium, a gesture she said was a “shout out” to Black people, the LGBTQ+ community and all people dealing with mental health.



Stefanie Dolson, who&nbsp;<a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/4/5/18327606/chicago-sky-center-stefanie-dolson-shares-her-coming-out-story-on-lgbtq-panel" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">came out publicly</a>&nbsp;in 2019, helped Team USA score gold in women’s 3&#215;3 basketball and at least&nbsp;<a href="https://www.outsports.com/olympics/2021/7/31/22603480/new-zealand-rugby-gold-olympics-tokyo-ruby-tui" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">four</a>&nbsp;of New Zealand’s gold-winning rugby sevens team are openly LGBTQ+.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.gq.com/story/megan-rapinoe-sue-bird-march-modern-lovers-cover" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Engaged</a>&nbsp;soccer and basketball stars Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird, respectively, competed for Team USA in the Tokyo Games after they met during the Rio Olympics in 2016, a less complicated arrangement than American softball players Amanda Chidester and Anissa Urtez, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.insider.com/softball-couple-competed-for-olympic-medals-2021-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">are one of the&nbsp;</a>only engaged or married couples to compete against one another at the Games.&nbsp;&nbsp;



New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard also made Olympic history as the first openly transgender women to compete in the Games,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-sports-weightlifting-laurel-hubbard-e721827cdaf7299f47a9115a09c2a162" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">thanking</a>&nbsp;the International Weightlifting Federation for showing “that weightlifting is an activity that’s open to all of the people in the world.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



182. That’s at least how many openly LGBTQ+ athletes there are competing at the Tokyo 2020 Games,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.outsports.com/olympics/2021/7/12/22565574/tokyo-summer-olympics-lgbtq-gay-athletes-list" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;Outsports. In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.outsports.com/2016/7/11/12133594/rio-olympics-teams-2016-gay-lgbt-athletes-record" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rio</a>, there were 56. In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.outsports.com/2012/7/18/4053416/23-openly-gay-and-lesbian-athletes-at-2012-london-summer-olympics" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">London</a>, 23.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.outsports.com/olympics/2021/7/21/22583016/olympics-lgbtq-athlete-women-men-gay-tokyo-why" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vast majority</a>&nbsp;of openly LGBTQ+ athletes are women, in line with broader&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/21/1018404859/openly-gay-athletes-in-mens-pro-sports-few" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trends</a>&nbsp;among elite athletes. Openly LGBTQ+ women outnumber out men at the Games by about nine to one and represent a far greater diversity of sports. There are more than 40 openly LGBTQ+ competitors in women’s soccer alone, a sport with no out men. The international nature of the Games shines a light on the barriers LGBTQ+ people around the world face. Many countries participating&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-43822234" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">criminalize</a>&nbsp;homosexuality and being&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiewareham/2020/09/30/this-is-where-its-illegal-to-be-transgender-in-2020/?sh=68f4daf95748">transgender</a>—some with the death penalty or corporal punishment—and few permit same-sex marriage or allow people to legally change their gender. Beyond the law, many face discrimination, violence and prejudice for being who they are and for some athletes attending the Games can be a risk in itself. Tongan&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/tongan-olympic-swimmer-competing-medal-homophobia-rcna1502" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">swimmer</a>&nbsp;Amini Fonua, for example, is openly gay and represents a country where homosexuality can be punishable by a 10 year prison sentence. Other athletes—including Hubbard, Quinn, Smith and Daley—have been the subject of offensive and abusive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58029133" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slurs</a>&nbsp;by pundits commenting on the Games around the world, as well as being&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/olympic-commentators-misgender-first-openly-nonbinary-athlete-b1892333.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">misgendered</a>&nbsp;on TV&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kvdyy/alana-smith-quinn-non-binary-olympics-athletes-misgendered-pronouns" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">broadcasts</a>&nbsp;and on official&nbsp;<a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/skateboarding/athlete-profile-n1342516-smith-alana.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Olympic</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/football/athlete-profile-n1469426-quinn.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biographics</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



In 2016,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-note-from-the-editors-1?source=twitter&amp;via=desktop" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Daily Beast</a>&nbsp;published an article that was accused of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-37058787" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outing</a>&nbsp;a number of gay athletes at the Rio Games. TikTok and Twitter users have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.insider.com/olympics-tokyo-2021-tiktok-lgbt-gay-grindr-photos-endangering-athletes-2021-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;done the same in Tokyo. The 2022 soccer World Cup is set to be held in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/03/qatar-censorship-ignores-rights-fifa-rules" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Qatar</a>, a nation that punishes homosexuality by up to three years in prison. While Qatari officials have insisted everyone is welcome, the decision for Qatar to host was criticized by rights groups and there were calls in 2010 for then-FIFA boss Sepp Blatter to resign after he joked that gay fans and players should just “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/14/fifa-boss-gay-fans-no-sex" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">refrain</a>” from sex during the tournament.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



After winning his third Olympic medal in as many Games—and his first gold—27-year old Briton Tom Daley <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/26/tom-daley-overwhelmed-after-winning-olympic-gold-with-matty-lee-diving" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recalled</a> coming out in 2013. “I always felt like the one that was alone and different and didn’t fit,” he said. “There are more openly out athletes at these Olympic Games than any Olympic Games previously&#8230; I hope that any young LGBT person out there can see that no matter how alone you feel right now, you are not alone. You can achieve anything.”



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1303795054-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52057" width="622" height="415" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1303795054-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1303795054-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1303795054-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1303795054-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1303795054-2048x1366.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 622px) 100vw, 622px" /><figcaption>Megan Rapinoe #15 of the United States moves past Quinn #5 of Canada during a game between Canada and USWNT at Exploria Stadium on February 18, 2021 in Orlando City, Florida. (Photo by Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1330670372-1024x701.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52059" width="602" height="412" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1330670372-1024x701.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1330670372-300x205.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1330670372-768x526.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1330670372-1536x1051.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1330670372-2048x1402.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px" /><figcaption>TOKYO, JAPAN &#8211; JULY 26: Tom Daley of Team Great Britain poses with the gold medal during the medal presentation for the Men&#8217;s Synchronised 10m Platform Final on day three of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 26, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1330627088-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52058" width="608" height="404" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1330627088-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1330627088-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1330627088-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1330627088-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1330627088-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px" /><figcaption>TOKYO, JAPAN &#8211; JULY 26: Alana Smith of Team United States reacts during the Women&#8217;s Street Prelims Heat 3 on day three of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Urban Sports Park on July 26, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1234405905-1024x691.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52056" width="676" height="455" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1234405905-1024x691.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1234405905-300x202.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1234405905-768x518.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1234405905-1536x1037.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1234405905-2048x1382.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px" /><figcaption>-TOKYO,JAPAN August 2, 2021: New Zealands Laurel Hubbard, the first transgender Olympian, smiles to the small crowd after failing to advance in the womens 87kg weightlifting final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. (Wally Skalij /Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1037922724.jpg-2-946x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52061" width="504" height="545" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1037922724.jpg-2-946x1024.jpg 946w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1037922724.jpg-2-277x300.jpg 277w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1037922724.jpg-2-768x831.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1037922724.jpg-2-1419x1536.jpg 1419w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1037922724.jpg-2-1892x2048.jpg 1892w" sizes="(max-width: 504px) 100vw, 504px" /><figcaption>Dutch couple and equestrian competitors Hans Minderhoud and Edward Gal are competing together in the Tokyo 2020 Games PICTURE ALLIANCE VIA GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-149380885-1024x721.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52053" width="582" height="409" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-149380885-1024x721.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-149380885-300x211.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-149380885-768x541.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-149380885-1536x1081.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-149380885-2048x1442.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 582px) 100vw, 582px" /><figcaption>LONDON, ENGLAND &#8211; JULY 27: Amini Fonua of the Tonga Olympic swimming team carries his country&#8217;s flag during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/07/30/here-are-the-first-openly-transgender-and-nonbinary-olympians-making-history-in-tokyo/?sh=69fd12aba9c8">Here Are The First Openly Transgender And Nonbinary Olympians Making History In Tokyo</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/08/02/laurel-hubbard-crashes-out-of-weightlifting-as-quinn-makes-soccer-final---here-are-the-first-openly-transgender-and-nonbinary-olympians-photos/?sh=70ecee005efa">Laurel Hubbard Crashes Out Of Weightlifting As Quinn Makes Soccer Final — Here Are The First Openly Transgender And Nonbinary Olympians (Photos)</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.outsports.com/olympics/2021/7/12/22565574/tokyo-summer-olympics-lgbtq-gay-athletes-list" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">At least 181 out LGBTQ athletes are at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, more than triple the number in Rio</a>&nbsp;(Outsports)



<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/30/rainbow-olympics-tokyo-hailed-turning-point-lgbtq-athletes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">‘Rainbow Olympics’: Tokyo hailed as turning point for LGBTQ+ athletes</a> (Guardian)



By Robert Hart, FORBES STAFF

Athletics – Olympics: Day 9

There Are More Openly LGBTQ+ Olympians At Tokyo 2020 Than All Other Games Combined — Here Are The Athletes Making Sporting History

South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker won gold at the Olympics in Tokyo on Friday, setting the tone for Uganda and Ethiopia following on the leader board. With more events still to unfold, there is still room for strong showings.



South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker brought home the continent’s first gold medal on Friday, in the process smashing the world record for the women’s 200m breaststroke, with a finishing time of 2:18.95.



The 24-year old became the first female South African swimmer to win gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in a quarter of a century, delivering a supreme performance to finish ahead of America’s Lilly King and Annie Lazor. Emotional at her victory, Schoenmaker was still in the water when she saw the scoreboards indicate she had set a new world record, and shrieked with delight before being congratulated by her rivals, and earning her second medal for the games so far after having won the silver in the women’s 100m breaststroke earlier in the week. Schoenmaker received a surprise congratulatory phone call from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday after her victory. Given the tumultuous few weeks the country has seen, the president had some supportive and unifying words for the swimmer, who was strongly celebrated back home.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="736" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1331501475-1024x736.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52007" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1331501475-1024x736.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1331501475-300x216.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1331501475-768x552.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1331501475-1536x1104.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1331501475-2048x1472.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>TOKYO, JAPAN &#8211; JULY 30: Gold Medalist Tatjana Schoenmaker of South Africa during the medal ceremony of the 200m Breaststroke final on day seven of the swimming competition of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 30, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



 “You have lifted the country,” said Ramaphosa in a recording of the clip released by the Presidency, “Thank you so much. It was just unbelievable. You have done this for the country and for yourself and we honour you &#8230; we are really delighted to have seen this unbelievable performance.&#8221; South Africa leads the continent’s medals at the games so far, which has seen Ethiopia’s Selemon Berega win gold for the men’s 10,000m, and Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei set world records in three different events at the games so far. South Africa currently stands at one gold and two silver medals, Uganda with one silver and one bronze, and Ethiopia with one gold. With many of the athletics events still to come, there is still plenty of room for the teams to bring more success and glory to their countries.

Swimming – Olympics: Day 7

Making A Splash And More Glory

TOPLINE Three foreign athletes residing in the Olympic village and 16 other people linked to the Tokyo Olympics have tested positive for Covid-19, the games’ organizers announced on Friday, marking a record daily rise in cases tied to the event just hours before the opening ceremony is scheduled to kick off.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



According to the organizing committee, the three infected athletes include two from the Czech Republic and one from the Netherlands,&nbsp; who are now undergoing a 14-day period of isolation,&nbsp;Kyodo News&nbsp;<a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/07/6d30a069f5aa-19-olympic-linked-covid-cases-reported-on-opening-ceremony-day.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



It’s unclear how many athletes have been identified as close contacts to the three positive cases, but they will not be required to enter isolation and will be allowed to compete if they test negative within six hours of the start of their events.



The 16 other people who tested positive include three contractors and three members of the media, the organizers said without offering additional details.



A total of 106 Covid-19 cases linked to the Olympics have been recorded since July 1, when the organizers started offering daily updates.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h3>



1,979. That’s the total number of Covid-19 cases&nbsp;<a href="https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;in Tokyo on Thursday, the highest daily count since mid-January. After flattening out last month, cases in Tokyo began to rise in July, forcing the Japanese government to impose a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/07/08/japan-declares-covid-emergency-in-tokyo-olympics-likely-to-have-no-fans-in-attendance/?sh=561896294e7c">state of emergency</a>&nbsp;in the national capital.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



The steady rise in the number of cases linked to the Olympics has raised questions about the adequacy of the safety measures put in place for the mega event. Experts have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/olympic-village-covid-19-infection-bubble-already-broken-health-expert-2021-07-20/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warned</a>&nbsp;that the Olympic’s Covid-19 bubble has already been breached and it could lead to a larger outbreak that may spill into the Japanese population. Visiting athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are expected to follow a stringent set of pandemic-related rules which were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/archive/2021/06/?sh=47defdb81f67">unveiled last month</a>. Under the rules, all participating athletes and officials will be screened for the virus daily and are required to provide saliva samples at set times. Athletes, who can only stay in officially approved accommodations, will have their movements restricted and will be subject to GPS tracking by officials.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/07/6d30a069f5aa-19-olympic-linked-covid-cases-reported-on-opening-ceremony-day.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">19 Olympic-linked COVID cases reported on opening ceremony day</a>&nbsp;(Kyodo News)



<a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/olympic-village-covid-19-infection-bubble-already-broken-health-expert-2021-07-20/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Olympics-Athletes&#8217; village COVID-19 isolation bubble already &#8216;broken&#8217; &#8211; health expert</a> (Reuters)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

Opening Ceremony – Olympics: Day 0

Nineteen New Olympic Covid-19 Cases Reported On Opening Ceremony Day Including Three Foreign Athletes

TOPLINE: In addition to the threat of Covid-19, athletes taking part in the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will also face the dangers of extreme heat as soaring temperatures in the Japanese capital, spurred on by climate change, look set to make this year’s Games the hottest on record.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



This year’s summer Olympics are slated to be the among the hottest ever, with peak temperatures&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/17/weather/olympics-heat-forecast-climate/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">predicted</a>&nbsp;to average around 30 degrees Celsius, or nearly 90 degrees Fahrenheit.&nbsp;



Combined with Tokyo’s stifling humidity, the dangerous conditions—which have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/20/tokyo-olympics-fears-athletes-could-face-hottest-games-on-record?CMP=twt_a-world_b-gdnworld" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">prompted</a>&nbsp;multiple government notices warning residents against exercising outdoors—impair&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/57255563" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">performance</a>&nbsp;and put athletes at risk from heat-related conditions like heatstroke, dehydration and burns, with beach volleyball players already&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/burning-sand-and-35c-sun-promise-hottest-olympics-ever-zlt0q65n2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">complaining</a>&nbsp;the sand is too hot to play on.&nbsp;



The issue was not unforeseen to organizers, who made the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/nov/01/2020-olympics-tokyo-accepts-painful-decision-to-move-marathon-to-sapporo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">decision</a>&nbsp;to change event times and move marathon and walking events out of Tokyo in an attempt to avoid the heat, but is becoming a more pressing issue for all sports events as climate change drives temperatures up.



Outside of the Olympics, major&nbsp;<a href="https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/australian-open-2020-heat-rule-temperature-hot-melbourne-suspended-matches-383229" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tennis</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/28075216" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">soccer</a>&nbsp;tournaments have had to put&nbsp;<a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2018/08/28/us-open-new-heat-rule-allows-players-10-minute-break/1123268002/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">policies</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/about_wimbledon/heat_rule.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">place</a>&nbsp;to protect players from extreme heat, U.S. triathlons and horse races have been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/07/19/heat-wave-prompts-cancellations-new-york-triathlon-horse-races/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">canceled</a>&nbsp;due to heatwaves and the world’s biggest sporting event, the soccer World Cup, will be held in climate-controlled&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/21/football/qatar-2022-fifa-world-cup-spt-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stadia</a>&nbsp;to avoid the worst of host nation Qatar’s heat in 2022.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The effects of climate change are not restricted to extreme heat: shortening winter seasons pose an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/56972369" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">existential threat&nbsp;</a>to snowsports, severe typhoons led to several 2019 Rugby World Cup matches to be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2019/oct/10/rugby-world-cup-tournament-japan-super-typhoon-hagibis-england-scotland-france-game-live" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">canceled</a>&nbsp;and smoke from wildfires has disrupted numerous outdoor events across the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-sport-idUSKCN1UJ0OC" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S.</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/15/21065784/australian-open-wildfire-smoke-health-effects-tennis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Australia</a>.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



The International Olympic Committee told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;it “takes concerns about heat very seriously” and has taken a “wide range of measures” to mitigate the effect of temperature on athletes. These measures include scheduling longer distance athletics and cycling events later in the day, moving equestrian and triathlon events to early morning and improving access to shade and water.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



Tokyo’s Medical Association has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/20/tokyo-olympics-fears-athletes-could-face-hottest-games-on-record?CMP=twt_a-world_b-gdnworld" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stressed</a>&nbsp;that holding the games in July and August was “a serious issue even before the coronavirus pandemic” and a report by the British Association for Sustainable Sport&nbsp;<a href="https://basis.org.uk/rings-of-fire" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outlined</a>&nbsp;the likelihood of impaired performance due to heat. Heat has already been an issue in the lead up to the event—three rowers were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/aug/12/concerns-rise-with-tokyo-heat-after-rowers-treated-at-olympic-test-event" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">treated</a>&nbsp;for heat exhaustion after an Olympics test event in Tokyo in 2019—and other sporting events around the world are increasingly encountering similar problems. 28 out of 68 starters&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/49860159" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pulled</a>&nbsp;out of a World Championships marathon held in Doha, Qatar in 2019 due to the conditions, with one runner being taken away in an ambulance. The race started at midnight in an attempt to avoid the worst of Qatar’s heat.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h3>



71,000. That’s how many people sought emergency care for heatstroke between June and September 2019 in Japan. 118 of these died. A smaller number—65,000 cases and 112 deaths—occurred during the same period in 2020, though fewer people were out due to the pandemic.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR&nbsp;</h3>



Qatar’s cooled stadia for the 2022 World Cup will likely give an insight into how outdoor sports events can be held in hot weather, especially if its cooling&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/21/football/qatar-2022-fifa-world-cup-spt-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">technology</a>&nbsp;is both ecologically friendly and effective. The event is set to be carbon&nbsp;<a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/fifa-commits-to-carbon-neutral-2022-football-world-cup/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">neutral</a>, as are the forthcoming summer and winter Olympics’, the IOC told&nbsp;Forbes. Paris 2024 is&nbsp;<a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/paris-2024-commits-to-staging-climate-positive-olympic-and-paralympic-games" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slated</a>&nbsp;to be the first “climate positive” games.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/20/tokyo-olympics-fears-athletes-could-face-hottest-games-on-record?CMP=twt_a-world_b-gdnworld" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tokyo Olympics: fears athletes could face hottest Games on record</a>&nbsp;(Guardian)



<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-sport-idUSKCN1UJ0OC" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Canceled races, fainting players: Climate change turns up heat on sports</a>&nbsp;(Reuters)



<a href="https://www.rapidtransition.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Playing_Against_The_Clock_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Playing Against the Clock: Global Sport, the Climate Emergency and the Case For Rapid Change</a>&nbsp;(Rapid Transition Alliance)



By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

Aerial view of Munich’s Olympic stadium illuminated at night

As Record Heat Threatens Tokyo Olympics, Here’s What Climate Change Means For Future Sporting Events

TOPLINE: A Ugandan athlete training in Japan in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics went missing on Friday, triggering a search by local officials and police, in an incident that has raised doubt about the security measures put in place by the games’ organizers to keep the spread of Covid-19 in check.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



Julius Ssekitoleko, a 20-year-old Ugandan weightlifter, was not found in his designated accommodation when a local official attempted to find him to receive his sample for Covid-19 testing,&nbsp;Kyodo News&nbsp;<a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/07/37a6d0d3d253-urgent-ugandan-olympic-athlete-training-in-japan-goes-missing.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



Ssekitoleko was staying in the city of Izumisano in western Japan along with other members of the Ugandan Olympic team.



The missing athlete was last spotted by his teammates at around 12:30 am on Friday, city officials said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



The Ugandan Olympics delegation reached Japan last month and they were among the first group of visiting athletes to reach the country to prepare for the summer games. After their arrival, two members of the delegation&nbsp;<a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/06/23/national/uganda-olympian-covid/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tested positive</a>&nbsp;for Covid-19, which prevented the team from beginning their training activities. The team finally started training in Izumisano last week after undergoing a strict quarantine.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



Visiting athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are expected to follow a stringent set of pandemic-related rules which includes regular testing and having their movement restricted. As part of the rules&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/archive/2021/06/?sh=47defdb81f67">unveiled last month</a>, all participating athletes and officials will be screened for the virus daily and are required to provide saliva samples at set times. Athletes, who can only stay in officially approved accommodations, will have their movements restricted and will be subject to GPS tracking by officials. The rulebook warns that non-compliance will result in large fines, permanent bans from the Olympics and even expulsion from Japan, depending on the severity of the breach.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/07/37a6d0d3d253-urgent-ugandan-olympic-athlete-training-in-japan-goes-missing.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ugandan Olympic athlete training in Japan goes missing</a> (Kyodo News)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

Weightlifting – Commonwealth Games Day 1

Ugandan Olympic Athlete Goes Missing In Japan In Possible Breach Of Covid-19 Rules

TOPLINE The organizers of the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday announced that it will ban the sale of alcohol at venues and stringent rules that spectators attending the games will have to follow as Tokyo enters its final month of preparation before the games begin on July 23.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



Seiko Hashimoto, the head of the Tokyo games’ organizing committee, told reporters that the organizers have decided to ban the sale of alcohol at games venues following “experts’ advice” and added that event sponsor Asahi Breweries agreed with the decision.



<a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/06/23/national/tokyo-olympics-alcohol-coronavirus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According to</a>&nbsp;Japan Times, the games’ organizers had been considering a plan to allow the sale of alcohol with some restrictions but the initial plan provoked public outcry in the country.



Spectators coming to venues will be required to wear masks and face temperature checks—attendees who display high temperature or any other Covid symptoms will not be allowed to enter and received no refunds.



Because of Japan’s summer heat, spectators will be allowed to remove their masks at outdoor venues if they can ensure there is a two-meter gap between them and other spectators, Kyodo News&nbsp;<a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/06/3b3748b7440a-tokyo-marks-1-month-until-pandemic-hit-olympics.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



Inside the venue, spectators are barred from making direct contact with others, cheering loudly, giving high-fives, towel-waving or asking for autographs from athletes.



All attendees will be asked to retain their ticket stubs or ticketing data for at least two weeks after they attend an event as the organizers plan to post the seat number and date of attendance of any attendee who tests positive after the event.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



“The festive mood will have to be suppressed—that has become a major challenge,” Hashimoto told reporters&nbsp;<a href="https://sports.ndtv.com/olympics-2020/no-booze-no-autographs-tokyo-2020-unveils-fan-rules-with-a-month-to-go-2470267" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a>&nbsp;AFP. “People can feel joy in their hearts, but they can&#8217;t be loud, and they have to avoid crowds. Those are the areas where we need to be creative, and we are putting in a lot of effort to come up with a new way of celebrating.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike did not make a public appearance on Wednesday as she has taken a break from official duties and is resting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/tokyo-governor-koike-taking-break-this-week-due-fatigue-nhk-2021-06-22/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">due to severe fatigue</a>. Citing sources Kyodo News reported she was admitted to hospital in the capital on Tuesday.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



After weeks of speculation, the organizers Monday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/06/21/domestic-spectators-can-attend-tokyo-olympics-attendance-to-be-capped-at-10000/?sh=2b784d306950">announced</a>&nbsp;that domestic fans will be allowed to attend events at the Tokyo Olympics, but venues will have a spectator limit of 10,000 or up to 50% of capacity to minimize the risk of spreading Covid-19. The decision came as Tokyo and several other Japanese regions exited their Covid state of emergency. However, the Japanese capital is expected to remain under a quasi-emergency state until July 11. The cap on attendance at the Olympic events mirrors the rules laid out by the Japanese government for all other large events like music concerts and local sports—although the serving of alcohol is allowed at these other events. Following the announcement, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide told reporters that if a new state of emergency is declared during the games due to the pandemic, the event may then have to take place behind closed doors. Suga’s sentiment was echoed by Koike, who said the organizers will revisit the decision and consider going forward without any spectators should there be a “major dramatic change in the infection situation.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tokyo-2020-tokyo-olympics-olympic-games-coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-b0c7951989b4b0b61ddde7f8ec9c8429" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tokyo shapes up to be No-Fun Olympics with many rules, tests</a>&nbsp;(Associated Press)



<a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/06/23/national/tokyo-olympics-alcohol-coronavirus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tokyo Games organizers backtrack, banning alcohol at Olympic venues</a>&nbsp;(Japan Times)



<a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/06/e6ab72f27ed6-feature-tokyo-olympic-chief-pins-hopes-on-smooth-opening-in-1-months-time.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tokyo Olympic chief pins hopes on smooth opening in 1 month&#8217;s time</a> (Kyodo News)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

No Alcohol, No Autographs, No Cheers: Tokyo Olympics Organizers Unveil Rules For Spectators

TOPLINE The president of the International Olympics Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach on Wednesday offered to increase the number of medical professionals available in Tokyo to help out during the Olympics, amid growing calls from Japan’s medical community to cancel the games which are scheduled to start in just nine weeks as the country continues to witness a surge in Covid-19 cases.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



Speaking in Tokyo on Wednesday, Bach rejected calls for canceling the Olympics and insisted that the IOC will hold “safe and secure” games, the Associated Press&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tokyo-health-coronavirus-pandemic-olympic-games-sports-a8dfa4edeea0efbbd498c9a788581c06" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



Bach promised that medical help would come from various national Olympic committees and be available in the Olympic village and sports venues, however, details on this were extremely thin.



The IOC president said he believed more than 80% of the residents of the Olympic Village, which accommodates competing athletes, would be vaccinated or booked for vaccination ahead of the Games.



Bach also said “hundreds of sports events” have been held safely during the pandemic and noted that none of the “test events” held recently in Tokyo turned out to be “virus spreaders.”



Bach’s address comes at a time when doctors organizations in Japan have warned of a collapse of the country’s medical system and that the event has the possibility of increasing the spread of the infection.



Nikkei&nbsp;<a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/05/19/national/medical-workers-vaccine-rate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;that less than 40% of medical workers in Japan have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and the problem is more severe in Tokyo and other major urban centers where the vaccination rate among health workers is less than 30%.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



“For obvious reasons, we cannot give [athletes] every detail yet, but the most important principle is very clear: the Olympic Village is a safe place and the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be organized in a safe way,” Bach said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chief-critic">CHIEF CRITIC</h3>



In a letter sent to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga last week, the Tokyo Medical Practitioners’ Association&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tokyo-health-coronavirus-pandemic-olympic-games-sports-a8dfa4edeea0efbbd498c9a788581c06" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warned</a>: “The medical systems responding to COVID-19 are stretched thin, almost to their limits. The reality is that the entire medical system faces an almost insurmountable hardship in trying our best to respond with coronavirus measures.” The letter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/tokyo-doctors-call-cancellation-olympic-games-due-covid-19-2021-05-18/#:~:text=SportsTokyo%20doctors%20call%20for,Games%20due%20to%20COVID%2D19&amp;text=A%20top%20medical%20organisation%20has,the%20start%20of%20the%20Games.mes." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">added</a>&nbsp;a “strong request” for authorities to convince the IOC to cancel the games.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h3>



2.2%. That’s the percentage of Japan’s 126 million-strong population who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 according to Bloomberg’s global vaccination tracker. Reuters previously&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/unused-covid-shots-piling-up-japan-amid-slow-rollout-2021-05-07/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">noted</a>&nbsp;that this was the slowest rollout among wealthy countries.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



The organizers of the Tokyo games have said they will need about 10,000 medical personnel during the Olympics and have also asked for 500 extra nurses and 200 sports medicine specialists. Several districts near Tokyo have warned that they will not give priority to treating Olympic athletes and at least 40 Japanese towns have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/05/13/around-40-japanese-host-towns-drop-plans-to-house-incoming-olympic-athletes-over-covid-concerns/?sh=730af04f1c10">abandoned plans</a>&nbsp;to host visiting athletes amid concerns about inadequate resources. The increasingly unpopular decision to press forward with the event has also faced pushback from Japanese citizens online and a petition to call off the games has now crossed 373,000 signatures.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.change.org/p/%E4%BA%BA%E3%80%85%E3%81%AE%E5%91%BD%E3%81%A8%E6%9A%AE%E3%82%89%E3%81%97%E3%82%92%E5%AE%88%E3%82%8B%E3%81%9F%E3%82%81%E3%81%AB-%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E4%BA%94%E8%BC%AA%E3%81%AE%E9%96%8B%E5%82%AC%E4%B8%AD%E6%AD%A2%E3%82%92%E6%B1%82%E3%82%81%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99-stoptokyoolympic?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_28685503_ja-JP%3A0&amp;recruiter=1199662576&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=copylink&amp;utm_campaign=share_petition&amp;use_react=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The petition</a>, which was launched earlier this month, argues that it is “highly possible” the Olympic Games will become a “superspreader” event that will “cause danger and fear to healthcare workers, citizens and participants.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/05/18/thousands-of-japanese-doctors-warn-tokyo-cant-handle-olympics-amid-recent-covid-19-outbreak/?sh=60b858b6a304">Thousands Of Japanese Doctors Warn Tokyo Can’t Handle Olympics Amid Recent Covid-19 Outbreak</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/05/13/around-40-japanese-host-towns-drop-plans-to-house-incoming-olympic-athletes-over-covid-concerns/?sh=23d75b561c10">Around 40 Japanese ‘Host Towns’ Drop Plans To House Incoming Olympic Athletes Over Covid Concerns</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/05/07/tens-of-millions-of-unused-covid-vaccine-doses-are-reportedly-piling-up-in-japan-as-it-witnesses-a-surge-in-cases/?sh=7bd74d2541c9">Tens Of Millions Of Unused Covid Vaccine Doses Are Reportedly Piling Up In Japan As It Witnesses A Surge In Cases</a> (Forbes)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

A protester holds up a sign which calls for the Cancellation

Olympics Chief Offers Additional Medical Help For Tokyo As Pressure Mounts To Cancel Games

Olympic gold medalist runner Caster Semenya must lower her testosterone levels if she wants to defend her 800 meter title in Tokyo next year, a Swiss court <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://apnews.com/bd69bc7ea983d9a1959813402d3d3472" target="_blank">ruled</a> Tuesday, bringing an end to Semenya’s long legal battle against her sport’s governing body that brought controversy and heated debate to the role hormones play in athletic performance.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h4>



Semenya, who hails from South Africa, identifies as female and was judged to be female at birth, but has naturally higher levels of testosterone and XY chromosomes due to being born with a sex development disorder.



Tuesday’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/bd69bc7ea983d9a1959813402d3d3472" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ruling</a>&nbsp;by Switzerland’s supreme court dismissed Semenya’s appeal of a 2019&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/sports/caster-semenya-loses.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">decision</a>&nbsp;that ordered her—and athletes with similar hormonal conditions—to suppress testosterone levels in order to compete.



Testosterone levels can be lowered either through medication or surgery, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/bd69bc7ea983d9a1959813402d3d3472" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Associated Press</a>.



The International Association for Athletics Federation, the governing body for running,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/sports/caster-semenya-loses.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">maintains</a>&nbsp;that athletes with “differences of sexual development,” and more specifically female athletes with higher levels of testosterone, have an advantage in some events due to additional muscle mass, more strength and the ability to take in more oxygen. &nbsp;



“I am very disappointed by this ruling, but refuse to let World Athletics drug me or stop me from being who I am,” Semenya said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en-za/news/8ee6fb77/caster-semenya-remains-determined-to-fight-for-human-rights" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>, adding, “I will continue to fight for the human rights of female athletes, both on the track and off the track, until we can all run free the way we were born.”



In its ruling, Switzerland’s supreme court said the country’s Court of Arbitration for Sport was allowed to “uphold the conditions of participation issued for female athletes” with differences in sexual development “in order to guarantee fair competition for certain running disciplines in female athletics.”



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote has-text-align-center">“This decision is a call to action–as a society, we cannot allow a sports federation to override the most fundamental of human rights,” <cite>said lawyer Dorothee Schramm, who led Semenya’s appeal, in a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en-za/news/8ee6fb77/caster-semenya-remains-determined-to-fight-for-human-rights" target="_blank">statement</a>.</cite></blockquote>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CHIEF CRITIC</h4>



Athletics South Africa, the country’s governing body for running that backs Semenya. The group&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/caster-semenya-can-t-compete-her-best-olympics-events-without-n1000531" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previously called</a>&nbsp;the IAAF’s testosterone policy “discriminatory, unnecessary, unreliable and disproportionate.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



Semenya’s biology has been the subject of controversy since she burst onto the international running scene in 2009. Her victories at the time raised questions about her sex, leading the IAAF to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/aug/23/caster-semenya-athletics-gender" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">perform</a>&nbsp;a sex verification test on her. She was also forced to take medication to reduce her testosterone in order to continue competing. In 2011, the IAAF announced new rules that would tighten the upper limits of testosterone levels in female athletes. The rule was dropped in 2015 when Indian sprinter Dutee Chand&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/sports/international/dutee-chand-female-sprinter-with-high-male-hormone-level-wins-right-to-compete.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">convinced</a>&nbsp;Switzerland’s Court of Arbitration for Sport that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that elevated testosterone levels increased athletic performance. Then, in 2018, the IAAF&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/apr/25/iaaf-testosterone-rules-caster-semenya" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;the policy upheld in Tuesday’s court decision, which applies to runners in three events, and narrow enough for critics to say it was designed to target Semenya.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h4>



Transgender athletes have been keeping tabs on Semenya’s case.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/the-glorious-victories-of-trans-athletes-are-shaking-up-sports/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Similar arguments</a>&nbsp;are made about transgender athletes having an advantage over biological women. Different governing organizations have different policies, as well. The NCAA, for example, allows transgender women to compete on women’s teams after completing a year of hormone suppression treatment. But for the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, which oversees&nbsp;<a href="https://resources.wftda.org/womens-flat-track-derby-association-statement-about-gender/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">roller derby</a>, “an individual who identifies as a trans woman, intersex woman, and/or gender expansive” can compete on women’s teams.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/sports/caster-semenya-loses.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Caster Semenya Loses Case to Compete as a Woman in All Races</a>&nbsp;(New York Times)



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://apnews.com/bd69bc7ea983d9a1959813402d3d3472" target="_blank">Semenya loses at Swiss supreme court over testosterone rules</a> (Associated Press)



-Lisette Voytko, Forbes Staff

Athletics – Commonwealth Games Day 9

Caster Semenya Can’t Defend Olympic Title Unless She Lowers Testosterone, Court Rules

The 19-year-old South African gymnast was all set for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in July, for which she had qualified. With the event’s postponement, her goal hasn’t changed, she says, only the timeline has.&nbsp;



At just 19 years old, Caitlin Rooskrantz is South Africa’s gold medal-winning international gymnast.



From Florida, a small suburb in Roodepoort in Johannesburg, and currently in lockdown in the country, if the Covid-19 pandemic hadn’t happened, Rooskrantz would have now been intensely training for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in July, for which she had qualified.



&nbsp;“I qualified for the 2020 Games being the first woman in South Africa’s gymnastics history to have achieved an outright qualification at the world championships,” she told an audience of female powerhouses at the 2020 FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit in Durban on March 6.



Even as a child, when she first took to gymnastics, she had been set on making it to the Olympics one day.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The news of the Games’ postponement has been quite upsetting, but says Rooskrantz: “It is in the best interest of all the athletes because our health comes first, always!” Her favorite quote, in particular, comforts her at this time: “The goal hasn’t changed, just the timeline has, keep going!”



Her training has continued through the lockdown and it has kept her afternoons busy.



“We have set programs to keep up our strength, fitness and flexibility. To try and keep up my mental game, I watch videos daily of any past successful competitions. I analyse my training videos and try to mentally put myself in the video,” she says.



2019 had been “a spectacular year” for her.



“I managed to pass matric well with two distinctions and university entrance while training for my childhood dream. Not only did I bag South Africa’s first-ever gold medal on uneven bars on an international stage, but at just 18 years old, I made history,” she said at the summit, to an applauding audience.&nbsp;



In an interview with FORBES AFRICA, Rooskrantz reflects on the days when it all started, as a young child, when she was a bundle of energy and her parents knew early on that they had to redirect that energy to sport.



A teenager now, but if Rooskrantz has already seen much success, she has also experienced tragedy and hardship.



When she was just eight, her father, from whom she inherited her deep love for sport, passed away. He took his own life.



She had been training at a gymnastics center a few kilometers from home, but that had to stop because of the tragedy and transportation issues. But her former trainer took it upon herself to regularly drive her there.



“Everything started escalating and things took a turn. I dropped all my school sports because I didn’t have any time for them; I had to pick one, especially with the high demand of gym,” she says.



Rooskrantz was placed on a high-performance program and soon started traveling; training more than four hours a day six days a week at the age of 11. This was the intermediate level of her tumbling (a gymnastic feat including the execution of acrobatic feats) profession and the best was yet to come.



Her first overseas trip was to Australia for a training camp in 2012. A few months later, Rooskrantz competed in Serbia for her first international competition. It might have not been the best competition for her, but it was great exposure.



In 2014, South Africa hosted the African gymnastics championships with Rooskrantz the youngest member of the junior team.



“I did well, I don’t remember falling and I made it to the bar finals and that was the time I started to realize my potential on the asymmetric bar. I left that with a big boost to my confidence.”&nbsp;



The young student was progressing quickly, reaching new heights.



On her last year as a junior in the 2016 Junior Commonwealth Games in Namibia, she made three apparatus finals; asymmetric bar, vault and the balancing beam.



An injury kept her away from the Commonwealth Games in Australia in 2018, when she went in for surgery and was off the apparatus for months.



“I was in bed after my operation but back at gym a week after, still on crutches, working on my upper body. In a sport like gymnastics, when you are that injured, it is critical to do something because you lose strength, flexibility and fitness. I was also working on my mental state,” she says of those hard days. Her coach told her the surgery was either going to make or break her career. She was determined to return stronger. She did, and how.

2020 Forbes Woman Africa Leading Women Summit

Staying Flexible: With The Postponement Of The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, This Gymnast’s Goal Hasn’t Changed

Toplines:&nbsp;After a slew of calls to postpone due to the risks of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, Japan and the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday announced it would delay the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics until 2021, making it the first time the Games have been moved outside of World War I and II.



<ul><li>Japan&#8217;s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he had agreed with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to delay the world&#8217;s biggest sporting event until next year. &#8220;I proposed to postpone for about a year and IOC president Thomas Bach responded with 100% agreement,&#8221; Abe said.</li><li>Speculation that the Olympics would be postponed escalated on Monday after Abe <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/03/23/japans-prime-minister-hints-olympics-will-be-postponed-due-to-coronavirus/#398acfa01af7">said</a>, “If it is difficult to hold the games in such a way, we have to decide to postpone them, giving top priority to the well-being of the athletes.”</li><li>Senior IOC member Dick Pound <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2020/03/23/report-tokyo-olympics-postponed-due-to-coronavirus-ioc-member-says/#4090faa32a6c">told USA Today</a> that “On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided&#8230; The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”</li><li>It&#8217;s a move that was widely expected given <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cartercoudriet/2020/03/19/covid-19-coronavirus-cancellation-tracker/#23577b7452b2">the hundreds of conferences, festivals and sporting events</a> affected by the pandemic across the globe, as well as <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/japans-abe-faces-mounting-anger-over-school-closures-lack-of-virus-testing/2020/02/28/ddd3ca58-59e0-11ea-8efd-0f904bdd8057_story.html" target="_blank">mounting criticism</a> levied at the IOC and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by players and fans, the latter of which voted overwhelmingly in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2020/03/16/report-japanese-polls-say-tokyo-olympics-should-be-postponed-due-to-coronavirus/#208123926bfb">a public poll conducted by Kyodo News</a> to delay the Games.</li><li>Much of the criticism wasn&#8217;t focused on the possible safety of the event itself, which was set to begin on July 24 until August 9, but the risk to athletes presently as they attempted to train for the Games while adhering to lockdowns and social distancing practices in their home countries.</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">This is not about how things will be in 4 months. This is about how things are now. The IOC wants us to keep risking our health, our family’s health and public health to train every day? You are putting us in danger right now, today, not in 4 months.<a href="https://t.co/cICKVQ4qsZ">https://t.co/cICKVQ4qsZ</a>&mdash; Katerina Stefanidi (@KatStefanidi) <a href="https://twitter.com/KatStefanidi/status/1239924265803284480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<ul><li>On March 18, the IOC held a conference call with 200 athlete representatives that caused further ire, with Spanish Olympic Committee president Alejandro Blanco saying there would be unfair competition given the training gym shut downs in certain countries, and U.S. table tennis player Han Xiao saying, &#8220;Regardless of their intentions, their first priority is not the public health aspect of it,&#8221; <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/sports/olympics/olympics-coronavirus-athletes-training.html" target="_blank">according to the New York Times</a>. </li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">I’ve given this a lot of thought, and over the past few days my perspective has changed. I was voted to represent and protect athletes. As an IOCAC member, 6x Olympian and Medical doctor in training on the front lines in ER up until this week,these are my thoughts on <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Olympics</a> : <a href="https://t.co/vrvfsQZ1GO">pic.twitter.com/vrvfsQZ1GO</a>&mdash; Hayley Wickenheiser (@wick_22) <a href="https://twitter.com/wick_22/status/1239985862819155970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<ul><li>Adding fuel to the fire this month: Kozo Tashima,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/03/17/vice-chairman-of-japans-olympic-committee-tests-positive-for-coronavirus/#34c327a26140">the vice chairman of Japan&#8217;s Olympic Committee</a>&nbsp;and the head of the Japan Football Association, tested positive for the coronavirus following trips to Europe and the U.S., Greece’s Olympic committee&nbsp;<a href="https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/28870377/fans-barred-tokyo-2020-torch-lighting-ceremony-due-coronavrius" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">barred fans</a>&nbsp;from attending the traditional torch lighting ceremony and Canada&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsweek.com/canada-australia-olympics-tokyo-2020-games-postponed-coronavirus-outbreak-1493699" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pulled out</a>&nbsp;of the Games this past weekend.</li></ul>



Crucial Quote:&nbsp;In late February,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2020/02/28/report-japan-has-no-backup-plan-if-olympic-games-get-derailed-by-coronavirus/#1381731562b1">a senior official told Reuters</a>&nbsp;that Japan essentially had no backup plan, saying &#8220;We are not even thinking of when or in what contingency we might decide things. There is no thought of change at all in my mind.&#8221;



Big Number:&nbsp;$12.6 billion to $25.2 billion. That&#8217;s the estimated investment the city of Tokyo has made in the event and will have to swallow during a delay before recouping any revenue from the Summer Olympics,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbssports.com/olympics/news/tokyo-olympics-decision-on-cancellation-amid-coronavirus-outbreak-will-be-made-by-may/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to CBS</a>. Sponsors additionally will take a financial blow, though, one of its biggest broadcasters,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/d059a1fbb8d7de95794e0e0c44928043" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Discovery Inc., told investors in February</a>&nbsp;that it was insured against a cancellation and that it wouldn&#8217;t hit the company particularly hard. NBCUniversal as well assured investors it had insurance, but it also would lose profit from the already $1.25 billion it&#8217;s sold in advertising, signing a $7.7 billion U.S. broadcasting deal for the Games until 2032,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/business/media/nbc-olympics-coronavirus.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to the New York Times</a>.&nbsp;The Olympics is the largest spectator event affected by the global coronavirus pandemic, with the 2016 Games in Brazil&nbsp;<a href="https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/Games/Summer-Games/Games-Rio-2016-Olympic-Games/Media-Guide-for-Rio-2016/IOC-Marketing-Report-Rio-2016.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">selling 6.2 million tickets</a>.



Key Background:&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According to Johns Hopkins University</a>, there are more than 392,000 total confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 17,000 deaths worldwide. In Japan in particular, there are 1,140 cases with 42 confirmed deaths.



Tangent: The Olympic Games are among the athletic world’s most storied events. <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.penn.museum/sites/olympics/olympicorigins.shtml" target="_blank">First held</a> in 776 BCE, the Games were revived in the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.olympic.org/athens-1896" target="_blank">modern era</a> in 1896, when the Games were held in Athens, Greece. The 1916 Games <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.olympic.org/antwerp-1920" target="_blank">were cancelled</a> because of World War I, as were the 1940 and 1944 Games <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.olympic.org/london-1948" target="_blank">due to World War II</a>.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/">Matt Perez</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/innovation">Innovation</a>

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Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics Officially Postponed Due To Coronavirus

At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, I
became the first African and black woman to compete in the daring sport of
Skeleton. 



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Skeleton, in which athletes hurl themselves on a sled, head first, down a frozen ice track at 80 miles per hour, is considered by some to be the most terrifying Winter Olympics sport. I never imagined I would find myself hurtling down an icy hill on a metal, carbon fiber tray of sorts with no brakes, safety belt or steering mechanism. 



But when I discovered the sport about 100 days before the Olympics, I was motivated to take it up in hopes to inspire others, break barriers and shift the narrative around Africa on the world’s biggest stage. I ultimately changed the course of Olympic history and learned about the power of having a vision and pushing the limits to break into unknown spaces. 



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Bongi Msomi Is No Longer On The Sidelines (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2019/03/27/no-longer-on-the-sidelines/" target="_blank">Bongi Msomi Is No Longer On The Sidelines</a>



At the beginning of my journey, I asked myself two very
simple questions. ‘Why Not Me? And Why Not Now?’ I knew that someone had to
make history as the first African woman to compete in the sport of Skeleton at
the Winter Olympics and I didn’t see any reason why it couldn’t be me and it
couldn’t be right then. Despite coming from Nigeria, a place with no ice or
snow and having no prior knowledge of Skeleton, I had a vision to become the
first African woman to compete in Olympic Skeleton. 



We often hesitate to establish a vision for the things we want to do thinking that someone else will do it, while also waiting for a perfect time for it to be done. As best-selling author Mel Robbins notes in The 5 Second Rule, “If you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within five seconds or your brain will kill it.” Through my unconventional path, I learned how to keep my vision alive by taking action instantly.



As I pushed to break barriers, I also learned the value of embracing chaos and how to keep moving forward. In the sport of Skeleton, you’re on the edge of danger and control at any given time. This taught me to expect and appreciate the chaos that comes with life. 



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/sport/2018/10/04/unequal-pay-for-equal-play/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Unequal Pay for Equal Play (opens in a new tab)">Unequal Pay for Equal Play</a>



Before every run, I take down the track, I have a game plan. But when navigating down massive twists and turns going at speeds faster than cars travel on the freeway, things don’t always go as planned. 



Through my experiences on the Skeleton track, I’ve learned to embrace life’s chaotic, unplanned moments and adapt as needed along the way. In the same way, as I was beginning the sport, I would painfully bump into the walls on my way down the track. These are called “hits”. Hits slow you down and are to be avoided as much as possible. But in Skeleton, just as in life, hits are inevitable. 



On this journey, I learned to take the hits, no matter how big or small and keep pushing forward. 



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2019/03/11/the-businesses-of-the-future-20-new-wealth-creators-on-the-african-continent/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Businesses Of The Future: 20 New Wealth Creators On The African Continent (opens in a new tab)">Businesses Of The Future: 20 New Wealth Creators On The African Continent</a>



Finally, in Skeleton, flying down the track at crazy speeds, you have to make decisions in split seconds and the natural reaction is to panic. However, panicking is counterproductive as it causes the body to tense up and actually slows the sled down. Remaining cool, calm and collected is the best thing a Skeleton athlete can do. 



With more time in the sport, I ultimately learned to trust my instincts, relax and enjoy the ride. Perhaps this is the most important lesson of all as this has become my personal ethos for achieving success in life. 



By taking action instantly, embracing chaos and relentlessly
pushing forward and relaxing and trusting our instincts, we can all apply these
winning strategies for high performance in business and life. Who knew you
could learn so much from the most terrifying Winter Olympics sport?

SKELETON-OLY-2018-PYEONGCHANG

Simidele Adeagbo: What I Learned  From The Most Terrifying Winter Olympics Sport

There can’t be many in Africa like Prakash Vijayanath. Not only is he working as a programmer, trading in foreign currencies and about to start his master’s in finance, he also dreams of winning gold at the Olympics.
What makes Vijayanath even more rare, in Africa at least, is that he hopes to go to the Olympics for badminton.
His chances are decent. Vijayanath bagged silver at the 2015 African Games in Brazzaville, Congo. He also won the national men’s title in South Africa when he was just 18.
The 23-year-old is not resting on his laurels though.
“I was happy with that result but it was only a stepping stone for other international tournaments. I don’t really see it as a big milestone. It was something I needed to get out of the way so I could focus on international tournaments. It was an important goal nonetheless,” he says.
Vijayanath is based in Dublin, Ireland. He moved there, from Johannesburg, as soon as he finished high school. He got a sport scholarship at Trinity College and has just finished his bachelors in computer science and business. He plans to do his Master’s in finance there next year.
From Dublin he can play in more tournaments.
“I’m based in Europe, so traveling around Europe is quite cheap. So, I’ve played a lot of tournaments around Europe,” he says.
There is a downside though; getting funding can be tough. It means he has had to reach into his own pockets to be able to play in some tournaments.
“It can be hard to find sponsors, especially being a South African athlete in Ireland. South African companies would like to sponsor you but if you don’t play many South African tournaments, and Irish companies can’t sponsor you because you’re not an Irish athlete.”
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Vijayanath did have a deal with Carlton, a leading producer of badminton equipment, but is currently negotiating a deal with a new sponsor. He is also sponsored by his parents’ IT company, eSoft Development and Technologies. This is apt; Vijayanath worked as an intern, helping to develop software at eSoft. His parents are also the reason he plays badminton.
“My parents used to play when they were younger and in India. I was born in India, when we moved to South Africa, I was about four years old, and they joined a club in Randburg. Every Tuesday and Thursday night they would play and when I was about five or six they would let me play with them. It just developed from there.”
<div id="attachment_32998" style="width: 357px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-32998" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-32998" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/DSC_0022-201x300.jpg" alt="" width="347" height="518" />Prakash Vijayanath (Photo by Katlego Banoe)</div>
His father, Vijayanath Muthuramalingam, moved to South Africa when his then company, Siemens, offered him a job.
“The original plan was not to stay here, they were supposed to be in South Africa for a few years but my dad’s contract kept being renewed and we’ve ended up staying here.”
Although he was born in India, Vijayanath considers South Africa home. One of his goals is to wear South African colors at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
“I want to focus on some short-term goals, winning the nationals again later this year. If I win it it’ll be my third senior national title. I want to focus on these short-term goals so I can improve and while I improve I’ll start playing more international tournaments, qualify for the Olympics, and then do well in the Olympics hopefully.”
Getting to Tokyo won’t be easy.
“It’s quite tough… Normally only one or two African players qualify for men’s singles for each Olympics. It’s mostly Asian and European. Winning the African championships is a must to qualify for the Olympics and having loads of good international results. You need good results in Africa; you also have to travel to Europe, South America, North America, even Asia for high ranking tournaments,” he says.
Asian countries are the traditional powerhouses of badminton. Vijayanath says African countries need to start from the ground up to be able to compete with the likes of China, India and Malaysia.
“There needs to be more popularity in the sport. In China, badminton is one of their biggest sports. In India, I think it’s the second biggest sport, behind cricket. Once you get popularity, more people start playing and there’s more money in the sport to develop young players.”
There’s money to be made in the sport as well, especially in Europe where Vijayanath is based.
“In Europe, badminton is quite popular. In England it’s doing well, in Denmark it’s one of the most popular sports, in Germany it’s big and the league system is very good. There’s also good money playing league there and you get good experience.”
Balancing badminton, work and studying can be difficult. Vijayanath has to meticulously plan every day.
“In my first year of college I didn’t balance it well. I wanted to have a bit of fun, but I did quickly learn how to balance it. Basically I go at it week by week. Every Sunday I made a plan of what I was going to do during the week, literally per the hour. It sounds nerdy but it helped me so much.”
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Those who play league are mostly full-time, he says. As he is studying, Vijayanath only has enough time to play in tournaments.
“As I went into my final year of college, I only focused on my studies and badminton. Even during my exams, I had to stop badminton for two months.”
With his degree in the bag, and a few months to go before he starts his master’s, Vijayanath has dabbled in forex trading.
“At the moment I trade foreign currency a bit. I just started a few months back. I’ve got a lot to learn still. I made a few losses in the beginning; I’m only starting to make small profits now. I’m using this year as a learning period.”
The future looks bright for the Indian-born, Ireland-based badminton player from the Rainbow Nation. Who knows, in a few years, Vijayanath could have a pot of gold as well as an Olympic gold medal.

Tag: Olympics

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