Olympics hope the glow of medals will take spotlight off virus

With the Tokyo Olympics set to open a week from Friday, organizers hope outstanding athletic feats create a more lasting impression than the empty seats and other setbacks stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

Having decided earlier in the year to exclude spectators coming in from overseas, the organizers announced just weeks before the opening ceremony that the vast majority of the games will be held behind closed doors amid another COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo.

Concerns about the virus have also prompted the Japanese Olympic Committee to back away from its ambitious medal target and instead emphasize protecting the health of athletes.

JOC President Yasuhiro Yamashita said Japan’s target of a record 30 gold medals, a goal that was established before the coronavirus forced a one-year postponement of the games, is now less of a priority to the host nation.

“If I’m asked whether it’s important to achieve 30, I want to clearly say ‘no,'” Yamashita said at a recent news conference in Tokyo.

Japan recorded its largest-ever haul of 16 gold medals on home soil at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and later equaled the mark at the 2004 Athens Games. It won 41 total medals in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, its highest tally ever, but only 12 were gold.

Whatever the final tally this summer, the country’s place on the medal table is likely to be underpinned by the performance of its judoka.

Japan’s judo depth was on display last December when reigning men’s U66kg world champion Joshiro Maruyama missed out on the Olympics after losing a dramatic winner-take-all playoff against Hifumi Abe for the final spot on the team.

Abe and younger sister Uta, who will contest the women’s U52kg class, are two of the most recognizable faces among a Japanese judo squad that will contend for medals in virtually every weight class.

Rio de Janeiro gold medalist Shohei Ono is favored to go back-to-back as men’s U73kg champion, while Akira Sone will be the judoka to beat in the women’s +78kg heavyweight division.

One of the biggest questions is how the coronavirus may impact the outcome of events. While organizers, including Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government, have repeatedly stated Olympians and the Japanese public will be safe from infection, the possibility of athletes being sidelined due to the coronavirus remains.

With the organizers determined to keep the focus on the sporting arena and away from the pandemic, it is an outcome they will desperately hope to avoid.