Aug 07, 2021 (Japan Times) - As the curtain falls on Tokyo’s Olympics, delayed and curtailed by the coronavirus, Japan’s athletes can chalk it up as a triumph, having bagged more gold medals than ever before. For Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga it’s more of a letdown, unlikely to improve his chances in a looming general election or provide much of a boost to the economy.
The Tokyo Games were initially dubbed the no-fun Olympics due to unprecedented public-health restrictions that limited the movement of athletes to sports venues and their residence. They underwent daily tests, ate in dining halls with seats individually separated by plastic shields and largely stayed away from the general public. Many also struggled with the oppressive summer heat.
In competition, a few tiny nations roared such as San Marino, with about 34,000 people, which became the least-populous nation to take a medal when Alessandra Perilli won the bronze in the women’s trap shooting. Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won the first gold medal for the Philippines, which has been competing in the Olympics since 1924 and Norway’s Karsten Warholm had one of the most memorable celebrations of the Games when he won the men’s 400-meter hurdles and ripped his shirt open after crossing the line in world-record time.
Japan has posted its best-ever Olympic haul, winning more than 20 gold medals as of Friday.
Suga repeatedly promised a “safe and secure” Games, even as many feared inviting tens of thousands of people from around the world would result in a superspreader event.
Organizers reported a total of 382 COVID-19 infections directly connected with the Olympics as of Aug. 6, with visitors accounting for slightly more a third of the total. But the event has coincided with a surge in domestic cases to their worst levels since the pandemic began.
