The Olympic Games always have been more than an athletic competition: in the past, they offered an opportunity for athletes to mingle with their counterparts from other countries, swap pins and (time permitting) visit a variety of venues to watch sports other than their own.
Then there are the fans. The cheering of spectators has lifted many an athlete to greater accomplishments. The entire Olympic experience usually presents unlimited inspirational potential–think “Chariots of Fire.”
But that won’t be the case in Tokyo this summer. It all has been changed, like so many other things, by the presence of Covid, and in this instance, strict mitigation measures. That has prompted many Japanese (the percentage depends on which poll you believe) to call for cancellation of the Games.
Barring what International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates calls “Armageddon,” however, these Olympics will go on July 23-Aug.8. But they will be quite different from every other Games since the ancient Greek tradition was revived at the end of the 19th Century.
Those on the podium won’t be able to greet their nearest and dearest after they step down with their medals around their necks; no spouses or parents can attend, or for that matter, any foreign spectators. We will have to wait until June 30 to find out if Japanese fans are allowed in the stands, and if they are, it’s likely they will have to show proof of vaccination or undergo a Covid test before taking their seats.
During its virtual sports forum this morning, the FEI (international equestrian federation) offered a glimpse of what athletes can expect if they make the team and travel to Japan, but there are still a lot of questions to be answered, including whether horse owners can attend.
“This definitely will be different…we’re all operating a little bit in the vague here,” said Catrin Norinder, the FEI’s director of eventing and Olympics.
There will be no sightseeing, no restaurants, no shopping for the athletes. It’s a little like being under house arrest for these competitors, who will remain in their rooms or at the venue in a “bubble-to-bubble” set-up designed to eliminate the need for quarantine. While there is no requirement for athletes to be vaccinated (though it is strongly recommended), they will be tested frequently–and twice even before they depart for Japan.
Smart phone applications required for all foreign visitors include health monitoring and “close contact” apps to be used in case someone tests positive for Covid, as well as a locator that specifies the phone user’s whereabouts. Close contact will be defined as having spent 15 minutes without a mask in less than 1 meter distance.
There are only three riders on a team this time around, but every squad has a traveling reserve. Pre-competition changes of athletes on a team can be made two hours before the start of each discipline, and also before the start of the team competition in show jumping, which follows the individual competition. This can be done without veterinary or medical excuses, but substitutions also be made under other circumstances with vet or medical certificates.
That includes between the team qualifier and the team final in dressage, before cross-country or team jumping in eventing (with the addition of 20 penalties) and between the team qualifier and team final in show jumping. Since there is no drop score without the usual four-member team for eventing and show jumping, the idea is to make sure the nations can finish as a team to earn a place in the final standings. Subs are not eligible for individual medals, though.
Oh, and then there’s the climate situation. Tokyo in mid-summer is hot and humid. Very. So much so that the human marathon, for instance, was moved further north to Hokkaido.
“It’s going to be uncomfortable for horses and humans alike,” said Catherine Bollon, the FEI advisor for athlete services, noting that it can affect performance and, if not well-managed, health as well..
She advised acclimatizing for both horses and humans, “training your body to get accustomed to heat.”
Are you enjoying going around without a mask now that Covid has declined here?
In Japan, Catherine warned, athletes and others who will be there, “on site, you will need to wear a mask at all times.” And there will be limits on how many people can be in an area at the same time.
On the plus side, stables and transport will both be air-conditioned, and cooling facilities will be available at competition and training sites. Horses will be monitored by veterinarians and physiologists. Ground juries will have help in making decisions when “the weather may become very challenging for competition,” according to FEI Veterinary Director Göran Åkerström.
If conditions are difficult on the day of cross-country, however, the ground jury won’t have a lot of flexibility, except perhaps moving the competition to the afternoon, since rowing and kayaking are scheduled to start the next day at the Sea Forest venue. All the Olympic equestrian competition except cross-country is at Baji Koen equestrian park, a refurbished version of the site used for the 1964 Games that were held in Tokyo.
A scene from the Olympic test event at Sea Forest. (FEI/Yusuke Nakanishi)
Will Connell, the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s director of sport, called Tokyo, “the most challenging Games I’ve ever been involved in.”
There are still a lot of questions to be answered, but the U.S. riders have an edge because they have been able to compete regularly over the last year, while many Europeans and people in other countries have not, due not only to Covid, but also to an outbreak of EHV-1.
So Americans can count themselves lucky and won’t be deterred by the challenges as they get ready to represent their country, a higher purpose they have worked toward for years..
As eventing team member Liz Halliday-Sharp put it, “There’s nothing more that I want right now than to go to Tokyo.”