Tokyo 2020 Test Events Go International

(ATR) International athletes compete in diving and volleyball test events in Tokyo.

Up until May 1, only domestic athletes had been allowed since the resumption of test events in early April.

The Diving World Cup, which doubles as a qualifier for the Tokyo Games, began on May 1 and runs through May 6 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, the venue for the competition this summer.

More than 200 athletes from 50 countries are taking part amid tight COVID-19 protocols that include daily testing and a bubble that limits the participants to their hotel and the venue. No spectators are allowed.

The diving event was the only one of three competitions that the International Swimming Federation (FINA) and Tokyo 2020 organizers agreed to hold in Japan. An artistic swimming qualifier scheduled for Tokyo was cancelled and a marathon swimming qualifier to be held in Fukuoka in southern Japan was moved to Portugal.

The volleyball test event was on a much smaller scale, with only the men’s and women’s teams from Japan and China taking part at Ariake Arena on May 1-2. The matches were also held without spectators.

The Chinese women’s team, the reigning Olympic champions, won their game while the Japanese men’s team won both games against their Chinese counterparts.

The protocols for the volleyball reportedly were more lax than for the diving competition.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported the Chinese men’s team, after undergoing checkups at Narita Airport, was allowed to move to the airport lobby among regular passengers.

Written by Gerard Farek

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