Australia Goes First

(ATR) If you want the Games, respect the Games. With the arrival of its women's softball team, Australia on Tuesday gave a clear support to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, postponed a year ago and the subject of doubts and criticism inside and outside the country less than two months before its start.

"All staff and players heading to Japan today are fully vaccinated thanks to the Australian Olympic Committee," said David Pryles, Softball Australia Chief Executive.

"They'll also be undergoing stringent testing and checks as soon as they land at the airport and throughout their camp and (the) Olympics."

In addition to its well-known passion for sport, Australia is very close to winning the 2032 Games, for which Brisbane is bidding. John Coates, president of the Australian Olympic Committee, said in May that the Queensland capital city is well on its way to being confirmed as a host by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

"IOC due diligence testing of every element of the Brisbane project is now underway," Coates said. "If this diligence yields a positive final report, the proposal to host the Games in 2032 will go to a vote of the full IOC membership."

That vote could come next month, during the IOC session in Tokyo prior to the start of the Games, which will open on July 23.

In that goal of securing the return of the Games to Australia 32 years after the highly successful Sydney 2000 Games, no gesture goes unnoticed. That includes supporting Japan and the IOC in the midst of the Covid pandemic by becoming the first country to set foot in the venue of a very complex Games.

The Australian women's softball team settled in Ota City, north of Tokyo. Only 15 players traveled instead of the planned 23, and the coaching staff was reduced to 10. The prefectures of Tokyo and Osaka, among others, remain under a state of emergency until at least June 20.

The Jamaican soccer team was not as fortunate as the Australian softball team. Just this Tuesday, a number of team members were prevented from entering Japan due to Covid-19 related situations. Japanese television NHK reported that the friendly match between the local team and the Jamaican team, which was to be played on Wednesday, was cancelled.

Homepage photo: Tokyo 2020

Written by Sebastian Fest

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