Tokyo 2020 Olympics LIVE: Games could still be CANCELLED, Team GB stars test negative for Covid-19 – latest updates
THE countdown is well and truly on to the Tokyo Olympics.
Action from Japan is due to start on Wednesday, with Team GB women's football team facing Chile.
But there are still huge issues with coronavirus engulfing the Games, with Tokyo 2020 chief Toshiro Muto admitting there could be a last-minute cancellation.
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Stay up to date with all the updates from Tokyo in our live blog…
- Etienne Fermie
HOMECOMING QUEEN
Naomi Osaka is hard at work in Tokyo ahead of her first event since pulling out of the French Open.
The Japanese superstar pulled out of Wimbledon, but is set to be a poster girl for her home Games.
The WTA world No2 has been practising hard at the state of the art Ariake Tennis Park, with the women's singles set to get underway on Saturday.
Naomi Osaka is ready to make her comebackCredit: AFP The world No2 hasn't played since the French OpenCredit: Getty - Etienne Fermie
COOKING UP A STORM
South Korea's Olympic team will screen ingredients for radiation before cooking food for its athletes separately.
An official confirmed the plan yesterday in what could be a further irritant to already frayed Seoul-Tokyo relations around the Games.
South Korea has already annoyed Japan by curbing imports of Japanese seafood.
That was due to safety concerns following the 2011 Fukushima tsunami and nuclear disaster.
A Korean Sport & Olympic Committee spokesperson said they have booked a hotel near the Olympic Village for food to be prepared and then delivered in boxes to its athletes.
They added that they have ran their own food programmes at every Olympic Games to help its athletes feel at home.
Relations between the two countries were already tense due to feuds over territorial claims and their wartime history.
And they were further strained when Seoul said President Moon Jae-in would not visit the Games for what would have been his first summit with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
The South Korean team were forced to remove banners with an historic reference to a 16th-century war with Japan from their Olympic Village accommodation balconies by the International Olympic Committee.
The plan could be a further irritant to already frayed Seoul-Tokyo relations - Etienne Fermie
TOKYO KO?
By SunSport's Martin Lipton
The Olympic Games could STILL be called off – as Tokyo faces a TRIPLE health threat.
As Games-linked Covid cases continue to rise in a city rising in indignation at the Olympics taking place, Tokyo 2020 chief Toshiro Muto said he was prepared to discuss a last-minute cancellation.
The first events of the Games are set to take place overnight, with Team GB’s women footballers in action against Chile tomorrow morning.
But Muto said: “We can't predict what will happen with the number of coronavirus cases. So we will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases.
“We have agreed that based on the coronavirus situation, we will convene five-party talks again.
“At this point, the coronavirus cases may rise or fall, so we will think about what we should do when the situation arises."
- Kostas Lianos
ROWDEN REACTS
Team GB runner Daniel Rowden said many of his team-mates had been left in a little bit of a panic following news of their isolation.
Rowden said: "To be locked in a room and not be able to train takes away from your confidence, takes away from your preparation.
"And then also there's a bit of fear that the same thing could happen to us.
"Those athletes were on the flight the day before us, so there's a little bit of trepidation that the same thing could happen to people on our flight as well"
GETTY IMAGES - Kostas Lianos
CLIMATE WARNING
Team GB sailor Hannah Mills claims this year climate change is interlinked with the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Mills told Euronews: "This time, the strength, resilience and endurance of the athletes stands in stark contrast with the vulnerability and fragility of humankind and our environment.
"The pandemic is not over. Climate change feels more real than ever. As a sailor each time I launch a boat, I see unimaginable amounts of plastic waste in the waters. The same is happening on land. And plastic is really just one very visible and tangible example of the state of the world.
"Against this backdrop, this year’s Olympics will be a celebration of the human spirit and hopefully our ability to overcome these challenges.
"The Olympic platform will not only belong to hundreds of athletes and their ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ performances. It will also be an opportunity to showcase innovation, progress, solutions and give people new hope that together we can address these problems.
"Recycled medals and podiums, renewable energy and low-carbon technologies. When watched by millions in every corner of the world, these symbols can have ground-breaking power"
- Kostas Lianos
RIISE TO THE OCCASION
Team GB manager Hege Riise has urged the women's football team to forget their emotions if they want to clinch Olympic gold.
Riise said: “It will be an emotional rollercoaster and how we deal with that individually and as a team will be crucial.
“You need to have confidence that you are well prepared but also know not every game will be a great game, you might win on a day which isn’t great.
“You must overcome the feelings of not performing and being at your best but still win.
“The emotions of being in an Olympics are quite big and the games come so quickly so you don’t have the time to be too overwhelmed or happy. You just need to get going.
“You can prepare for something and it doesn’t happen so you need to be adaptable to whatever comes. We have to be prepared for that”
- Kostas Lianos
RECORD TEMPERATURES
The 2020 Olympics are set to be the hottest Games on record with locals warned that it is already too hot to exercise outdoors.
Peak temperatures expected to average around 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30°C) in Tokyo with brutal humidity.
The Japanese authorities claimed in their pitch for the Games that the weather would be 'mild'.
But concerns have been raised over athletes' well-being during what is expected to be the hottest Olympics on record, with brutal humidity
- Kostas Lianos
MUTO STATEMENT
As said below, the head of the Tokyo Olympics organising committee Toshiro Muto isn't ruling out a last-minute cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics.
Muto said: "We can't predict what will happen with the number of coronavirus cases.
"So we will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases.
"We have agreed that based on the coronavirus situation, we will convene five-party talks again.
"At this point, the coronavirus cases may rise or fall, so we will think about what we should do when the situation arises"
GETTY IMAGES - Kostas Lianos
SSEKITOLEKO FOUND
Missing Ugandan athlete Julius Ssekitoleko has been found and is being interviewed by police after fleeing during pre-Olympics training in western Japan last week.
The authorities said Ssekitoleko was in Yokkaichi, a city 105 miles east of his host town in western Japan.
Police are asking the weightlifter what happened since he fled his hotel on Friday, when he left a note behind saying he did not wish to return to his country.
The 20-year-old did not meet Olympic standards in the latest international rankings released after he arrived in Japan and was to return to Uganda this week
- Kostas Lianos
ELEVENTH HOUR
The head of the Tokyo Olympics organising committee Toshiro Muto isn't ruling out a last-minute cancellation of the Olympic Games.
The Tokyo Games are scheduled to kick off on Friday despite a raft of criticism amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Vaccination rates in Japan are low while COVID-19 cases keep rising.
Asked at a news conference if the Olympics might still be cancelled, Muto said he would keep an eye on infection numbers and hold discussions with organisers if necessary
- Kostas Lianos
TRAINING HARD
US pole vaulter Sandi Morris shared a video showing exactly how she trains for the Olympics.
It's all or nothing at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
And that short clip proves it:
- Kostas Lianos
SAMUELSON TESTS POSITIVE
Seattle Storm ace Katie Lou Samuelson has been forced out of Team USA for the inaugural 3×3 women's basketball competition at the Tokyo Olympics.
Samuelson, who is fully vaccinated, revealed she tested positive for Covid-19 and is no longer able to compete.
The 24-year-old wrote on Instagram: "I am devastated to share that after getting sick with COVID-19, I will not be able to go and compete in Tokyo.
"Competing in the Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl and I hope someday soon, I can come back to realize that dream"
- Kostas Lianos
ADMIN ERROR
PZP President Pawel Slominski apologised after six Polish athletes were sent home from Tokyo due to an administrative error.
Poland had sent 23 swimmers to Japan for the Olympic Games but the PZP were forced to cut the squad down to 17 based on world governing body FINA's qualifying rules.
Slominski said: ""I express great regret, sadness and bitterness about the situation related to the qualification of our swimmers for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
"Such a situation should not take place, and the reaction of the swimmers, their emotions, the attack on the Polish Swimming Federation is understandable to me and justified"
- Kostas Lianos
CAN'T GO BACH
The President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach claims the Tokyo Olympics couldn't be cancelled as the Olympic Games would have “fallen to pieces”.
There has been continued opposition to the Games in Japan, where vaccination rates are low and the number of positive cases continues to rise.
Bach said: "Cancellation would have been the easy way for us. We could have drawn on the insurance that we had at the time and moved on to Paris 2024.
“But in fact, cancellation was never an option for us – the IOC never abandons the athletes.
“Imagine for a moment what it would have meant if the leader of the Olympic movement, the IOC, would have added to the already many doubts surrounding the Olympic Games, it would have poured fuel on to this fire.
“Our doubts could have become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Olympic Games could have fallen to pieces. That is why we had to keep these doubts to ourselves”
- Kostas Lianos
TEAM GB PREDICTION
Team GB have been tipped to win 52 medals in the Tokyo Olympics, which would mark another gold rush, and finish fifth.
That is according to sports data firm Gracenote which expect a big drop from 67 medals and second place at the last Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, which were Great Britain's most successful Olympic Games in history.
Adam Peaty, Jade Jones, Max Whitlock, Jack Laugher, Amber Hill, Ben Maher and the men’s 4x100metre athletics relay team are among the expected gold medallists.
The data experts explained the drop in numbers from the all-time high in Rio was “partially due to lower expectations in cycling – track, gymnastics – artistic and rowing among other competitions”
GETTY IMAGES
- Kostas Lianos
BIG THINGS
Team GB swimmer Kieran Bird is confident he and his team-mates will achieve "big things" in the Tokyo Olympivs.
Bird told This Is Oxfordshire: “I think we can achieve big things, looking at how everyone is doing in training. All of us have quite high aspirations.
“None of us leave anything out of the pool in training, we all go for it and when you have five guys with the same ambitions and motivations, plus Jol with his achievements and goals as a coach, it just makes it easier to work hard.
“It’s not just in the pool but outside it too, everyone is really motivated when it comes to diet, psychology, all the little one per cents that make the difference.
“I’m looking for big things from all of us and it should be good to see. We socialise quite a lot outside the pool and there’s a lot of banter in the squad – it’s not great but we all like it”
- Kostas Lianos
COVID CASES RISE
An American gymnast and a Czech beach volleyball player were added to the tally of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the 2020 Olympics.
Kara Eaker and Ondrej Perusic's positive tests were announced on Monday taking the total number of coronavirus diagnoses to 71.
Eaker was at a training camp in Chiba and Perusic stayed at the Olympic Village in Tokyo Bay.
Tokyo Olympics organisers announced that both went into a 14-day quarantine
- Kostas Lianos
ANXIOUS
British sprinter Richard Kilty has admitted that everyone is slightly anxious they may have come into contact with someone who attracted COVID-19.
This comes after there were nine new cases confirmed among Olympic Games-related personnel, taking the total to 67.
Kilty said: "There is always the worry that you could randomly be pinged for whatever reason, or came into contact with someone, and you don't get a chance to train or compete.
"If someone was to come and miss out on their individual event this close to the Games it'd be heartbreaking for anybody.
"I wouldn't wish it on anyone"
- Kostas Lianos
PERMISSION TO TRAIN
The six Team GB athletes forced to isolate have been given permission to train yesterday after they all tested negative for COVID-19.
They were ordered to quarantine after a passenger on the same flight to Tokyo tested positive for coronavirus.
They all practiced as individuals, socially distanced from coaches, and will continue do so before returning to full training on Wednesday or Thursday.
A return to full training is dependent on them all returning another negative test
GETTY IMAGES - Kostas Lianos
SCARY
Team GB athletes have admitted they are chilled by the ‘scary’ fear of COVID-19 destroying their Olympic dream.
So far five athletes have tested positive for the virus with tens more including six GB track and field stars placed in isolation.
Half-miler Daniel Rowden said: “It is scary. I felt for all the people in quarantine.
“It’s the Olympic Games, you’ve worked really, really hard and come in really good shape.
“But to be locked in a room takes away from your confidence and preparation. There’s a bit of fear that the same thing could happen to us.
“Those people were on the flight the day before, so there’s trepidation the same thing could happen to people on our flight as well”
- Thomas Blow
GOOD MORNING OLYMPIC FANS
Team GB athletes have admitted they are chilled by the 'scary' fear of a Covid ping destroying their Olympic dream.
So far five athletes have tested positive for the virus, wrecking their Tokyo 2020 ambitions, with tens more including six GB track and field stars placed in isolation.
Half-miler Daniel Rowden admitted: "It is scary. I felt for all the people in quarantine.
"It’s the Olympic Games, you’ve worked really, really hard and come in really good shape.
"But to be locked in a room takes away from your confidence and preparation. There’s a bit of fear that the same thing could happen to us.
"Those people were on the flight the day before, so there’s trepidation the same thing could happen to people on our flight as well."
Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony composer Keigo Oyamada has quit his role with the Games after he boasted of bullying a disabled boy.
The musician, who operates under the moniker Cornelius, made the claims in magazine interviews that led to outrage across Japan.
The 1990s articles resurfaced after he was hired by Tokyo 2020 organisers, and included claims from his time at school of forcing a mentally-disabled classmate to eat his own faeces and masturbate in front of others.
Oyamada, 52, apologised when the interviews re-emerged and has now handed in his resignation from the team creating Friday’s ceremony.
He said: "I have become painfully aware that accepting the offer of my musical participation in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics lacked consideration to a lot of people.
"I apologise from the bottom of my heart."
And finally, Tennis hero Naomi Osaka has appeared on the cover of famous American magazine Sports Illustrated ahead of the Olympics.
The 23-year-old is set to make her return to the court following a mid-season break by participating at the Tokyo Games.
Japanese star Osaka has been included on the front cover of the SI Swimsuit issue ahead of competing at her home Olympics.
The SI Swimsuit issue is an annual magazine that features female athletes and celebrities modelling swimwear.
The cover photograph is viewed as prestigious in American culture, with the likes of Ronda Rousey and Alex Morgan featuring in recent years.
SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day said: "There's no question that Naomi is one of the best athletes in the world, and a cover spot felt obvious.
"She’s spent her formative years racking up titles and is headed to the Olympics.
"But we celebrate Naomi for her passion, strength and power geared towards consistently breaking barriers when it comes to equality, social justice, and mental health."
- Joe Brophy
MAX-IMUM EFFORT
Exclusive by Rob Maul: Max Whitlock says his entire career has been fuelled by wanting to prove people wrong.
The Essex tumbler said: “It has fuelled a lot.
“I’ve had it so much of it. As a youngster I was told I would never score on the world stage and never be good enough.
“When selected for 2009’s Australian Youth Olympic Festival I was questioned why I made the team.
“People still don’t believe in me now. Some people will never believe in me for some reason.
“For me that is something that I massively, massively gain so much motivation from. Proving people wrong is a huge form of motivation."
- Joe Brophy
MORE ON OSAKA
Japanese star Osaka has been included on the front cover of the SI Swimsuit issue ahead of competing at her home Olympics.
The SI Swimsuit issue is an annual magazine that features female athletes and celebrities modelling swimwear.
The cover photograph is viewed as prestigious in American culture, with the likes of Ronda Rousey and Alex Morgan featuring in recent years.
SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day said: "There's no question that Naomi is one of the best athletes in the world, and a cover spot felt obvious.
"She’s spent her formative years racking up titles and is headed to the Olympics.
"But we celebrate Naomi for her passion, strength and power geared towards consistently breaking barriers when it comes to equality, social justice, and mental health."
- Joe Brophy
HOLDING COURT
Tennis hero Naomi Osaka has appeared on the cover of famous American magazine Sports Illustrated ahead of the Olympics.
The 23-year-old is set to make her return to the court following a mid-season break by participating at the Tokyo Games.
- Joe Brophy
MORE ON GLOVER
Steve Backshall told BBC Radio 5 Live: "To my mind she is the most extraordinary role model to the kids.
"The way that she carries herself, and still thinks about life, and the way that she still prioritises her kids and motherhood, alongside training for what is surely one of the most demanding and gruelling sports, is incredibly impressive."
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