The 2020 Olympics

2020 Summer Olympics logo

The Games will run from July 23 to August 9.

Positive Coronavirus Tests Growing at Olympics
July 19, 2021
2020 Summer Olympics logo A growing number of Olympic athletes have tested positive for COVID-19. Among the U.S. athletes who will miss the Games after testing positive for the coronavirus were tennis player Coco Gauff and gymnast Kara Eaker. Also slated to miss at least part of the Games are Czech beach volleyball player Ondrej Perusic and two members of the South African men's soccer players. Olympics officials reported that others testing positive included those in the media and those on various levels of Olympic staffing. The total of Games-related infections has topped 60 since July 1, when more than 20,000 people began arriving in preparation for the Games.

Olympic Torch Relay to Avoid Tokyo Streets
July 7, 2021
Citing fears of the continuing specter of the COVID-19 virus, organizers of the 2020 Olympics have canceled the portion of the Olympic torch relay on the streets of Tokyo. Instead, those parts of the relay will be streamed online. The relay had already been disrupted many times, including by a woman who attempted to douse the flame by using a water pistol. The relay will end on July 23, the date of the Opening Ceremonies. A Japanese newspaper reported that those ceremonies might have a crowd much smaller than anticipated.

10,000 Cap Set for Spectators at Olympics Events
June 21, 2021
2020 Olympics logoOrganizers of the 2020 Olympics have decided to allow up to 10,000 people to attend an event at this year's Games, which begin next month. Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, said that the maximum would be 50 percent of the total attendance possible, up to that 10,000 mark. People who do attend Olympics events will have to wear masks and ensure that they travel directly from their homes to the events and then back home again. Spectators will not have to offer proof of a negative COVID-19 test or of vaccination against the coronavirus.

In Virus's Shadow, Olympics Officials Release Rules for Athletes
June 9, 2021
Athletes competing in this year's Olympic Games will have to follow a strict set of rules; if they do not, they face disqualification. Among the rules are requirements to wear masks nearly all fo the time and to refrain from handshakes, hugs, and other forms of personal contact.

1st International Athletes Arrive in Japan for Olympic Training
June 1, 2021
Australian women's softball team The first international athletes, members of the Australian women's softball team, have arrived in Japan to train for the Olympics. The 33 players, coaches, and staff all had vaccinations for the COVID-19 virus before leaving Australia and then tested negative for the virus after they arrived in Japan. They are staying at a hotel in Ota, 50 miles from Tokyo, and will be confined to one floor during their stay; they plan to move into the Tokyo Athletes Village on July 17.

U.S. Sprinter Gatlin Headlines Olympic Test Event
May 9, 2021
-"Justin Thousands of athletes have taken part in a dozen test events with an eye toward the 2020 Olympics, delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most high-profile participants in the latest test event was American sprinter Justin Gatlin, the five-time Olympic medalist in the 100 meters and 200 meters. Gatlin won the 100-meter test race, in a time of 10.24 seconds, edging out Japanese runners Tada Shuhei (10.26) and Koike Yuki (10.28).

New Dates for 2020 Tokyo Olympics
March 30, 2020
2020 Summer Olympics logo The Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 23, 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced. The Games were to run July 24–August 9, 2020. The IOC and Japan had earlier postponed the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, in the wake of the worldwide struggles with the coronavirus COVID-19. The World Health Organization has declared it a pandemic. Confirmed cases around the world number in the hundreds of thousands, and deaths related to the virus have soared in recent weeks. The new dates for the Olympics are July 24–August 8, 2021. The new dates for the Paralympic Games are August 24–September 5, 2021. In both cases, they will still be called the 2020 Olympic Games.

2020 Tokyo Olympics Postponed
March 24, 2020
Tokyo 2020 The Tokyo Olympics will take place in 2021, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced. The Games were to start run July 24–August 9. Abe said that he and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had no choice but to postpone the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, in the wake of the worldwide struggles with the coronavirus COVID-19. The World Health Organization has declared it a pandemic. Confirmed cases around the world number in the hundreds of thousands, and deaths related to the virus have soared in recent weeks. More than 6,000 athletes, comprising about 57 percent of the available slots, had already qualified for the Olympics, and other qualification events had been scheduled for the next few months. It is not yet clear whether all of those who already qualified will automatically be able to compete in 2021 (assuming that the pandemic has subsided by then). The IOC will be working with individual sporting federations on that and many other matters in the coming months.

Barbie Dolls to Mark New Olympic Sports
February 24, 2020
Barbie surfing 2020 Olympics Five new Barbie dolls will help celebrate new sports at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Coming soon to toy vendors around the world will be Barbie athletes showcasing baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing. Baseball was an Olympic sport from 1992 to 2008. Softball was on offer at the Olympics from 1996 to 2008. The other sports will be offered as Olympic sports for the first time in 2020. Barbie doll manufacturer Mattel has also announced the imminent release of a new collection of Hot Wheels toys, to commemorate the Olympics through the years, and a version of the card game UNO that features the Tokyo 2020 mascot Miraitowa, along with a new rule just for the Olympics.

2020 Olympics National Stadium Finished after Redesign
December 14, 2019
2020 Olympics National Stadium Japan has completed its National Stadium, to be one of the showcases of the 2020 Olympics. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke during the small private opening ceremony of the stadium and applauded the efforts of those who built the stadium. Also speaking was Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, who lauded the number of trees incorporated into the design. The construction of the stadium was redesigned after public outcry at the price tag of the original design. The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games will take place on July 24, 2020, at the stadium, which has a capacity of 68,000. In between the opening and closing ceremonies, the stadium will be the venue for athletics and soccer competitions.

2020 Olympics Organizers Try Fake Snow to Beat the Heat
September 21, 2019
2020 Olympics logo Officials have added a new element to the keep-everyone-cool effort already under way for the 2020 Olympics: snow cannons. The Games are in Tokyo, which traditionally experiences very hot temperatures in July. The average temperature for the past decade on the day the Games open, July 24, is 87.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Add that to the city's propensity for high summer humidity, and it has organizers concerned. Organizers already have at their disposal a number of contingencies, mist towers and hydration stations among them. Stadiums have been designed to keep cool air in the stands and on the track and field. Eager to add another weapon against the heat, organizers tested an artificial snow machine by showering a seated crowd with fake snow. The test was done at the Sea Forest Waterway, where many canoe and kayaking events will take place. The result was no significant change in the temperature inside the venue. Whether further tests take place remains to be seen.

2020 Olympics Mascots Unveiled

February 28, 2018

2020 Olympics mascots

Organizers of the 2020 Olympics have unveiled the mascots. They are futuristic digital characters. Organizers had announced that Japan's schoolchildren would vote on the mascots. A total of 205,755 classes at 16,769 elementary schools voted; each class cast one vote. They voted from a short list of three pairs. The winning pair received 109,041 votes. The blue and white mascot is for the Olympic Games. The pink and white mascot is for the Paralympic Games. Both combine a checkered pattern, which is in line with traditional Japanese designs, with a more futuristic look. Ryo Taniguchi, a California art graduate, was the designer.

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