Sigi's tips: Dive into the Corona world of sports

An almost empty plane and yet processing at the airport in Tokyo takes several hours. ID cards must be shown and telephone numbers must be provided. Constant accessibility is encouraged and behind every corner there is a Japanese man nodding his head and waving a cotton swab. Test, test, test. “I actually just want to get this over with as quickly as possible,” says record European champion Patrick Hausding from Germany. His colleague Maicol Verzotto from South Tyrol is similarly dismayed. “We are totally controlled.” Welcome to the brave new Olympic world.

Even if these are just the qualifying competitions for the actual games in a good two months, everyone gets a foretaste of what will happen if the games take place. You literally immerse yourself in a scenario that involves the total restriction of personal freedom for all participants. And data protection has long since been trampled underfoot by the fear of infection. A competition took place in Tokyo on Monday - and extremely strong security precautions. © APA/afp / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU

No one fighting for an Olympic spot is allowed to leave the hotel. The rooms do not have windows that open. “We’re constantly breathing in air conditioning,” says Hausding. Eating out is prohibited. Athletes from other nations are only allowed to come within one meter. And anyone who thinks they can go over the top will immediately find themselves surrounded by lots of Japanese. Total control It's similar to what happened in the Soviet Union 40 years ago, when chaperones sat on every floor in hotels to ensure that guests from the evil West didn't suddenly go to their rooms with a female companion. Rigorous action was taken. At least the divers are lucky that the distances for the synchronized divers probably meet the requirements. Otherwise these competitions would have to be deleted from the Olympic program. No, honestly, you don't want to go there. Really not.

There is also a risk that the pandemic will gain new momentum, especially since the values in Japan are worrying. Tokyo is one of the four emergency prefectures. Yesterday, Sunday, there were almost 1000 new infections and the vaccination campaigns are going slowly because there is a lack of qualified personnel. Nobody really knows how 10.000 athletes will disappear into a single bubble at the Games. Actionism is spreading. Instead of a corona test every four days, tests should now be carried out daily at the Olympic Games. This is a logistical challenge that will probably be difficult to overcome. The vague hope of a good concept “The Olympic Games stand or fall with the concept,” says German Olympic doctor Bernd Wohlfahrt. But which concept is the right one that really provides security? Nobody will be able to answer this question in advance. Anyone going to the Tokyo Olympics, regardless of their role, must be aware of the risk to their health.

A few recent events illustrate the problem. There were over 50 corona cases at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Torun, Poland. The beach volleyball tournaments in Dubai and now in Mexico were also not free from new infections. Even at the World Curling Championships in Montreal, two players from the German team were sent into quarantine. As an exception, Germany is allowed to compete with three players instead of the usual four. The Women's Ice Hockey World Championship, which was supposed to take place now, has been postponed. Indefinitely in summer. So basically canceled. And that's all just an excerpt from the sporting Corona window.

It's nothing more than slogans of perseverance that we hear from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the organizers in Japan. Basically, it is above all a hope of some kind that keeps these Olympic Games alive. A small piece of straw, which of course has many broken points. Too many, perhaps.

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Sigi's tips: Dive into the Corona world of sports

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