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제 11 호 First Olympics in Corona

  • 작성일 2021-08-25
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How did the Tokyo 2020 Olympics go in the Corona Era?

Kicker: WORLD (OLYMPICS)


First Olympics in Corona

How did the Tokyo 2020 Olympics go in the Corona Era?



By Sol-Hyang Park, Reporter, & Seo-Won Hong, Cub-reporter

cookie7152@naver.comeunoia1025@naver.com



  The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was scheduled to be held from July 24th last year, was postponed by one year, and was held from July 23rd to August 8th in 2021 due to the global spread of the coronavirus. It was the first event in modern Olympic history. Despite the gloomy situation of Corona, thanks to the sportsmanship and the Olympics, we were united through sports, feeling the excitement and joy. Let’s go back from the opening ceremony and the newly created events to what changesCorona made.


The Opening Ceremony


  As the spread of Corona 19 was strong, the atmosphere of the opening ceremony was very different from the previous ones. Under the theme of "United by Emotion," the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics tried to express the difficulties and pain of people and athletes around the world due to coronavirus rather than the approach of a global festival, and this was seen a lot throughout the opening ceremony. Some of those who devoted themselves to overcoming Corona 19, such as medical staff and rescue workers entered with the Olympic flag and also took over the torch.Many Olympic athletes who were former doctors and nurses were also included in IOC jockeys - It highlighted heroes who sacrificed themselves in Corona. 


U.S. first lady commemorating

Moreover, it included the memorial process in the opening ceremony, not the closing ceremony, making the atmosphere heavier. The memorial process has been included from the 2016 Rio Olympics, which commemorates the Olympic athletes who were sacrificed and it was held at the closing ceremony in Rio and Pyeongchang Olympics. In honor of sacrificed athletes who were killed in the Munich Olympics disaster but also those who died of coronavirus, the solo dance of Mirai Moriyama under the theme of “Eternal Legacy” and a silent tribute followed.




The most noticeable performance with favorable comments was a pictogram pantomime performance. Pictograms is the use of pictorial symbols to mark stadiums or events, introduced after the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.Japanese mime artist Hiropon and duo Kabez introduced all 50 Olympic sports events using their bodies in just five minutes, with blue&white costumes and various tools. It was a one-take performance along with the edited version of 50 events, and many said it was exciting and breathtaking.



Empty stadium 

Unfortunately, all of this was out of the audience. There was no cheering at the moment when the players entered and the torch was ignited. The opening ceremony without the traffic jam at the entrance, the waiting of countless crowds, and the excitement, cheers and applause of the audience, felt like a stuffed stage for TV broadcasting. It definitely showed the reality of the coronavirus in Japan and the world.


The effect of Covid-19 on the Tokyo Olympics

  The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was held in a pandemic, created different sights from the usual Olympics. The International Olympic Committee published Tokyo 2020 Playbooks which outline the responsibilities of all games participants and the rules that must be followed. Olympians could be expelled from Japan for breaching Covid-19 rules.


All of the athletes, officials, and reporters had to take a covid test 72 hours before leaving the country. They could be admitted into Tokyo with a negative certificate for Covid-19. International athletes and support staff were tested daily. If an athlete tested positive, he or she was not allowed to compete. They had to begin isolation immediately at a designated hotel. The length of isolation was determined by the Japanese health authorities depending on the severity of symptoms.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics was the first Olympics played behind closed doors. 96 percent of the entire games were played without spectators. Often team officials and support staff cheered, but the crowd’s shouts disappeared.


Covid-19 created a new tradition for Olympic medal ceremonies. Athletes who won medals placed their medals around their necks. Instead of shaking hands or embracing with dignitaries, medalists had to hang the medal around their own neck to guard against the spread of Covid-19. Athletes could not bite medals or kiss them.


Athletes, presenters, and volunteers wore masks at all times except when competing, training, eating, drinking or sleeping. The IOC relaxed COVID-19 protocols. They allowed medalists to take off masks for 30 seconds on the podium to be photographed. The IOC said, “this alleviation will allow athletes to have an image for the media that captures their faces and their emotions during a unique moment in their sporting career, as well as to celebrate the achievements of all the medalists together.”


Finally, athletes and sport-specific team officials had to depart no more than 48 hours after the completion of their competition. 


Empty stadium and self-serve medal ceremony (Yonhap)


The 2020 Tokyo Olympics Featured New Sports

  While many things were banned during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there were many new aspects. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics had four new sports and two returning. Surfing, skateboarding, karate and sport climbing made their debut and baseball and softball returned to the Olympic stage for the first time in 13 years. Surfing is a sport that athletes show a variety of skills while riding the waves on the board. Men and women shortboard competitors hit Japan’s coast and they were judged on the difficulty of the maneuvers. Men’s and women’s Olympic skateboarding consists of two events which are park and street. The park event takes place on a bowl-shaped course. Athletes use the inclines within the course to make perform tricks. The course of street event is designed to replicate street skating. Riders can use various tricks with stairs, ramps and rails. Karate is a martial art that originated in Okinawa during the Ryukyu Dynasty. It consists of two disciplines which is kata (forms) and kumite (sparring). It is for both men and women. Men’s and Women’s sport climbing consists of three disciplines: speed climbing, bouldering and lead climbing. Final rankings were determined by combined scores.


South Korean Climber Seo Chae-hyun competes in the women’s sport climbing during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Yonhap)



Tokyo Olympics Highlighted “Gender equality”

  The 2020 Tokyo Olympics was the first gender-balanced Olympic Games in history with 48.8 percent women’s participation. It is up from 45 percent at the last Olympics in 2016 in Rio. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have doubled the number of mixed team competitions compared to 2016. There were for 18 total games including archery, shooting, judo, table tennis, track and field, triathlon, swimming, and surfing. There was a journey towards gender equality besides the field of play. The rule changed to allow one female and one male flagbearer at the opening ceremony. The IOC launched its Gender Equality Review Project in 2018 to advance gender equality. Female participation in the IOC commissions has increased, so 46 percent of IOC commission members are now female.



  The 2020 Tokyo Olympic, postponed a year, with no spectators, banned foreign visitors,  concluded on August 8th, 2021. Although the festival atmosphere was less than before, the Olympics and athletes brought us interest, cheer, and joy. Despite the absence of a live crowd and all the problems, the Tokyo Olympics brought us hope and inspiration. The Olympics was interesting in these days when many people hardly leave their homes. Furthermore, the hard work, sweat and tears of athletes gave great joy for 17 days to the people who were tired of Covid-19 and the hot weather.




Sources:

https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20210812131700013?section=search

https://www.yna.co.kr/view/PYH20210804254300013