SECTION D
THE SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 2021
Tokyo Olympics Athletes hang on to dreams of gold at changed Summer Games
Simone Biles, shown at the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials last month, is attempting to become the first woman to win consecutive Olympic titles in more than 50 years. JEFF ROBERSON ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
GREATNESS AWAITS Olympians go it alone in Japan as families watch from far away
By Eddie Pells
Associated Press
F
or more than 100 years, the lead-up to the Olympics, as well as the Games themselves, have been as precisely choreographed as a Simone Biles floor routine. In 2021, the world’s best gymnast appears ready to deliver. The Olympics, on the other hand, have been a make-it-up-as-you-go proposition for more than a year now. That doesn’t figure to change much when they o∞cially open Friday in Japan. The coronavirus pandemic, debates over the IOC’s handling of athlete rights and welfare, the ritual cycle of doping scandals and a general feeling that many in the host country do not want thousands of outsiders entering their borders are among the hot-button issues that have enveloped the run-up to these history-making Games. Biles will take over the spotlight that, over recent Olympiads, had been commanded by Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. But the absence of those now-retired champions hardly begins to explain all that has changed since the last time the world gathered for a Summer Games five years ago. At these Games — delayed by a year because of the pandemic, making them the first to be held in an odd-numbered year since the modern era began in 1896 — Biles will compete in front of a mostly empty arena. Fans will not be allowed because Japan is under a state of emergency as it continues to grapple with the virus. The 24-year-old defending Olympic champion’s relentless pursuit of perfection, and progression, is punctuated by an all-or-nothing vault that no woman before her dared even try. Biles’ performances will be the centerpiece of the action, which will take place over 17 days in more than three dozen venues in Tokyo.
Demonstrations Another focal point will be the medals stand. In the wake of a summer of social unrest in the United States in 2020, black sports figures sparked a conversation about how to use their Olympic platform to spread their message. Among the most vocal athletes have been hammer thrower Gwen Berry and sprinter Noah Lyles, who want to highlight racial inequality in America. They helped push the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee hard on the issue and the USOPC determined
There won’t be any reaction shots of excited, shocked or crying family members in the stands at Summer Games By Beth Harris
Associated Press
HAMISH BLAIR/ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
Tennis star Naomi Osaka will compete for Japan in the Games’ first week.
it will not punish athletes who demonstrate on medals stands, starting line or anywhere else on the field of play. The IOC has reluctantly agreed to some relaxation of the rule that bars demonstrations, but has not taken it o≠ the books. It’s that same restriction that led to the dismissal of U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos from the Mexico City Games in 1968 for raising their fists on the stand. In the summer of 2021, the issue of athletes’ rights involves more than a single country or a single issue. The growingly fraught conundrum of mental health has never been more relevant than this year. Some 11,000 of the world‘s most finely-tuned athletes, many of whom put their dreams on hold and kept training for an extra year, have been asked to head into a country that has not yet contained COVID-19 for their once-in-a-lifetime chance to compete on sports’ biggest stage. They will be there largely without friends and family, without fans in the stands, and without much chance to go anywhere other than the training gym, the competition venue and their hotel. The e≠ects of those strains might have been most acutely illustrated earlier this summer by tennis champion Naomi Osaka, who will compete for the host country over the first week of action in Japan’s steamy capital. Her withdrawal from the French Open and Wimbledon came with the bracing reminder that there is more to the games, and the attention that Please see story on Page D-4
OPENING CEREMONY Friday on NBC 4:55 to 9 a.m. — Live coverage 11 a.m.-2 p.m. — Preview show 5:30 to 10 p.m. — Opening ceremony
INSIDE u Sports previews. PAGE D-2 u New sports. PAGE D-3 u Athletes to watch. PAGE D-3 u Broadcast schedule. PAGE D-4 u USA Gymnastics finds itself at a crossroads. PAGE D-4
Michael Phelps reached for his mother’s hand through a chain-link fence near the pool. The 19-year-old swimmer had just won his first Olympic medal — gold, of course — at the 2004 Athens Games, and he wanted to share it with the woman who raised him on her own. That kind of moment between loved ones won’t happen at the pandemicdelayed Tokyo Olympics. No spectators — local or foreign — will be allowed at the vast majority of venues, where athletes will hang medals around their own necks to protect against spreading the coronavirus. No handshakes or hugs on the podium, either. “I like to feed o≠ of the crowd,” defending all-around champion gymnast Simone Biles said, “so I’m a little bit worried about how I’ll do under
those circumstances.” Catching sight of familiar faces during competition can bolster an athlete on a big stage. It helped Matthew Centrowitz at the U.S. track trials, where fans were allowed. “Seeing my family in the crowd and hearing them gave me a little sense of comfort, and what I needed to hear and see to calm my nerves a little bit,” said Centrowitz, the defending Olympic 1,500-meter champion. The youngest athlete on the U.S. team in Tokyo calls it “weird” that her family won’t be in the stands. “They’re usually at all my meets,” said Katie Grimes, a 15-year-old swimmer from Las Vegas, Nev. Katie Ho≠ was the same age as Grimes when she was the youngest member of the U.S. team in Athens. Nerves got to her in her first event, and Ho≠ hyperventilated and vomited Please see story on Page D-4
BY THE NUMBERS
33
Number of sports
600+
Number of American athletes
11,000+
Number of athletes expected to compete
206
Countries participating
339
Number of events
11 hours
Time difference between Tokyo and New Mexico
Sports editor: Will Webber, wwebber@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Eric J. Hedlund, ehedlund@sfnewmexican.com
MATT SLOCUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
The United States’ Michael Phelps celebrates winning his gold medal in the men’s 200-meter butterfly with his mother, Debbie; fiancée, Nicole Johnson, and baby Boomer during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Private, touching moments between loved ones won’t be happening at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics. SANTAFENEWMEXICAN.COM