Japanese fans soaked up the atmosphere on yesterday’s opening day of the world athletics championships in Tokyo, four years after being shut out of the same stadium for the pandemic-troubled Olympics.
The Tokyo Games, postponed a year until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, took place amid the ghostly backdrop of empty stands, with fans barred to prevent the spread of infection.
Japanese spectators were determined to make up for lost time as the world championships opened on a cloudy, muggy morning, with fans arriving before the race walk began at 7:30am.
Photo: AFP
Hajime Kondo, a 41-year-old office worker from nearby Chiba, came to watch with his wife, Yukiko, and their six-year-old son.
“We’ve just arrived but we watched the race walk, and when the Japanese athletes went past, people got very excited,” Kondo said. “Kids get to watch athletes in action and it makes them want to do it too. It’s a good incentive for them.”
Kondo and his wife managed to buy tickets for the Olympic kayak slalom in a lottery four years ago, but were forced to watch it at home on TV when organizers banned fans from most events.
“It was disappointing, we had taken the day off work and everything,” Kondo said. “There weren’t any fans, so it looked a bit forlorn on TV. It didn’t have that energy.”
Tokyo’s National Stadium, which seats just under 70,000, was about half-full when the men’s 35km race walk leaders entered for the final lap midway through the morning session.
A huge roar erupted when Japan’s Hayato Katsuki entered the stadium on his way to the bronze medal.
Katsuki also competed at the Tokyo Olympics, where race walk and marathon events were moved to the northern city of Sapporo to avoid Tokyo’s fierce summer heat.
“Fans were allowed to cheer us on this time and that gave me a lot of strength,” said the 34-year-old. “Race walk will be at the Los Angeles Olympics so I wanted to show people in Tokyo that it’s a fun event that people can enjoy.”
The head of Japan’s athletics federation, Yuko Arimori, fought back tears on Friday as she described how the world championships could “wipe away” the painful memory of empty stands at the Tokyo Olympics.
Arimori said sport was not “just about the athletes, but about everyone getting energy from it.”
Takashige Torii, a 49-year-old consultant from Chiba, said he was disappointed that the stadium was not full for the race walk, but had high hopes for the rest of the competition.
“It’s a great chance for visitors from around the world to come to Tokyo and get to know Japan and its culture,” he said. “Also, the Olympics were held behind closed doors so Japanese kids didn’t get the chance to watch the athletes.”
“I think this time will have a good impact on kids,” he added.
Organizers have sold out some sessions for the nine days of the championships, but tickets are still available.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe on Friday described the competition as “the largest sporting event of the year by some distance.”
Hitoshi Aita, a 38-year-old company worker attending the opening day with his wife Misato, said the event had not disappointed so far.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen race walk and I’m surprised by how fast they go,” he said. “If there are a lot of fans, it gives strength to the athletes.”
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Shahzad Khan was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
OBJECTIVE REACHED: ’Now for us, it’s about getting healthy, making sure everybody is ready to go, and we can ramp up,’ the Atlanta Hawks’ C.J. McCollum said after the game The Atlanta Hawks on Friday secured an NBA playoff berth with a 124-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Boston Celtics locked up the Eastern Conference second seed with a lopsided win of their own. C.J. McCollum scored a game-high 29 points for the Hawks, who came into the contest at sixth in the East and still in danger of falling into the play-in tournament that would see the seventh-through 10th-placed teams battle for the last two playoff berths in each conference. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson scored 18 points apiece, and Dyson Daniels added a triple-double of 13
RSS