Middle of winter, bleak and cold: the daytime temperature here has ranged from 6 to 11 degrees. Tokyo 2020 is a welcome distraction from the cold, the grind and the challenges.
Is it going to be the worst super-spreader event on the planet? Olympics with masked judges, officials, assistants and competitors, some of these wearing a mask that matches their uniform when they’re not competing.
This morning we watched Australia play Japan in first round men’s hockey. Australia is World no. 1 ranked, but with no international competition for the past eighteen months, anything could happen. In the second quarter, with Australia in the lead, Japan scored three goals within six minutes. The commentators noted that research has found that the hosting country gets 30% more medals. I was making breakfast and listening to the TV in the background so was relieved to hear that Australia recovered to win with five goals.
Then cycling around Tokyo, with the course passing some elegant Japanese gardens lined with spectators. There are so many cyclists, and they are so close to each other, how can that be safe physical distancing! I couldn’t work out why one of the competitors would want to put a bag of ice down his back on such a cold day (maximum 7 today here) until I realized that while there is only a small time difference between us and Japan, it’s summer there. The commentators shared the stories that make things more meaningful: how one of the leading cyclists had been a junior elite-level skier who had done some cycling to recover from an injury, and was so strong in it that he entered some cycling races. People told him that he couldn’t switch to cycling at the age of 22, but he proved them wrong.
Gymnastics already too, so good to watch: the flips on the floor; the parallel bars; the horse routine; and even the nail-biting rings that require such amazing strength. All men so far.
To swimming, always a favourite event. It’s early days with heats. Japan’s Seto Daiya, who received a bronze medal in the last Olympics, didn’t make it to the finals while Brendon Smith from Australia pushed himself to a personal best and broke his own Australian record to be the fastest qualifier in the 400m medley (he went on to come second in the final). The downside of performing in your home country, for Japan? It reminds me of Cathy Freeman’s courageous win at the Sydney Olympics, in which she conquered not only her opposition but kept her focus despite the pressure that the whole country was placing on her. I wonder if she is still running.
Working from home three days per week now, arising out of COVID, I might just put the Olympics on in the background, and if I have any lunch breaks, treat myself to watching some more. I love watching what the human body is capable of.
When Rhea heard that the Olympics for 2032 have been awarded to Brisbane, she asked why they don’t just put the names of all the countries that want to host in a container and let chance decide which country is successful.
We’ll see whether Tokyo’s successful bid was good luck for them, and for the rest of the world, over the coming weeks.
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