Hi there and welcome to the Guardian’s reside protection of the Olympic Video games. We’re right here to give you 24-hour rolling protection of all of the highs and lows and in-betweens of maybe the strangest instalment for the reason that very first in Athens in 1896. That is the “Tokyo 2020” of 2021. The Video games that couldn’t occur a yr in the past due to Covid-19, and the Video games many imagine shouldn’t occur even now because the pandemic continues to chop a swathe via Japan. Indicators of a fifth wave are in all places within the host nation, the place an infection and dying tolls are rising and vaccination charges stay low, and the capital might be underneath a state of emergency for the whole lot of competitors. That’s earlier than mentioning the spiralling monetary price.
However, as Worldwide Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach mentioned, “there isn’t a Plan B”. And so, organisers have pressed on, and virtually 80,000 athletes, officers, help employees and sure, us the media, have both arrived or will contact down imminently. The native temper is one in all derision, to the purpose that one of many Olympics’ greatest sponsors, Toyota, introduced it is not going to run Tokyo 2020-related adverts. In such an surroundings controversy already abounds, likewise with athletes taking the knee, tremendous fast tremendous spikes, and all of the others which have sadly grow to be one thing of Olympics custom comparable to doping, corruption and the standing of Russian athletes, a few of whom will compete however underneath a impartial flag.
We are going to preserve you updated with all of this, and, after all, the precise sport. Throughout 16 days, in entrance of zero spectators, 339 gold medals might be received throughout 33 sports activities. For many athletes, a lot of whom have endured the tough 12-month delay, simply making it to Tokyo is an achievement. Attending to the beginning line with out testing constructive or turning into a detailed contact might be one other feat in itself. Do this, and this Video games – regardless of all the above – represents the height of so many sporting careers. Reputations might be realised, magnified and shattered, and new international stars made.
Each nation approaches the Olympics in another way, follows completely different athletes and groups and excels in several sports activities. Whether or not you’re rooting for Workforce USA, Workforce GB, Australia, or another, we might be right here 24/7 for all the large moments and in addition lots of the small ones too, masking every little thing off the sector and on. We’ll be there for Ash Barty, Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Dina Asher-Smith, Stephanie Gilmore, Kevin Durant, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Ariarne Titmus. We’ll preserve you throughout the brand new sports activities in addition to the blue riband occasions.
With help from colleagues in New York, Sydney and London, our protection consists of stories and wonderful writing from our Guardian crew in Tokyo. Sean Ingle, Justin McCurry, Andy Bull, Barney Ronay, Tumaini Carayol, Suzanne Wrack, Kieran Pender and Tom Dart are on the bottom, plus professional evaluation via the video games from Greg Rutherford, Caroline Dubois and Ben Ryan – athletes and coaches who’ve been there and accomplished that, and Dubois is there now.
Daily you may obtain one of the best of the motion together with the subsequent day’s highlights straight to your inbox by way of our every day publication. Join right here. We even have an entire schedule, rolling medals desk, and full outcomes. For planning, try our highlights abstract and venue information.
However first, the opening ceremony! I’m right here for all of the build-up earlier than my colleague Barry Glendenning will take you thru the ceremony a bit afterward. Please do drop me a line by way of e mail or Twitter.