Tokyo 2020 Olympics: foreign athletes may feature at up to five test events
- Tokyo 2020 official Mori says organisers are ‘gauging’ athlete numbers and will present proposal to government
- Games delivery officer Nakamura assures dubious fans that organisers are ‘inextricably linked’ with domestic Covid-19 developments
The events will be a dress rehearsal in how to prevent the spread of Covid-19 as organisers host an international sports event during a global pandemic.
“At the moment we are currently gauging how many athletes would like to participate in the test events … We will coordinate with the government once we can confirm those numbers,” senior Tokyo 2020 official Yasuo Mori told reporters.
Test events for five competitions, including track and field and the marathon, could involve foreign athletes taking part, the organisers said.
Asked what Tokyo 2020 would do with the test events if there were another wave of coronavirus infections, Games delivery officer Hidemasa Nakamura said they were “inextricably linked with the domestic and local coronavirus situation.”