The “will they or won’t they?” part is over.The Olympics officially are a go, with the opening ceremonies wrapping up this morning (EDT) as tennis star Naomi Osaka lit the cauldron with the Olympic flame in Tokyo. (Watch a replay tonight at 7:30 on NBC). Now after months of Covid doubt, it’s time to let the Games begin (and actually, soccer, softball, rowing and archery already have started competition).
There are many, including a good number of Japanese citizens, who felt that with the problems of the pandemic, the Games should be postponed another year or simply cancelled. At least one Japanese official suggested the Games could even be called off right before opening ceremonies.
Thank goodness that didn’t happen. But the athletes who worked so hard to get to the pinnacle of their sports deserve a chance to compete against the world’s best, so the decision to go ahead seems to be the right one.
It comes with plenty of baggage, however, for the teams from 205 countries. They have to deal with mandatory masks (though I was interested to see many performers in the opening ceremonies were unmasked), as well as quarantines, restrictions on travel (the public transportation system can’t be used by visitors), no sightseeing, no restaurants. U.S. dressage rider Adrienne Lyle, who will ride Salvino, explained that to be safe, the U.S. equestrians are associating only with each other.
The U.S. dressage team: Sabine Schut-Kery with Sanceo; Steffen Peters (Suppenkasper) and Adrienne Lyle (Salvino). (Photo courtesy of U.S. Equestrian)
And in that vein, no U.S. equestrians marched in the opening ceremonies. They had plenty of company in not being there. Of the 650 American athletes who could have participated in the opener, only about 200 actually showed up in their snazzy outfits–Ralph Lauren blazers, striped shirts and stars and stripes neckerchiefs.
The U.S. team members who did march in the opening ceremonies.
I get it; they don’t want to risk a Covid infection before they compete, but a big part of the Olympic experience is mingling with people from other countries. That’s the whole international understanding thing.
At the closing ceremonies of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, I decided to risk arrest and joined the joyful throng of athletes in the heart of the stadium. No one noticed me, as everyone was eager to take photos of the stars of the Games (this was before cellphone cameras and selfies), while trading gear and pins as they learned to appreciate different styles and culture. It was fabulous to experience that (and I didn’t get arrested), so I know first-hand about the international human connection that athletes are missing in the social distancing Games.
When the announcer introduced the marchers from 205 countries at the ceremonies,she said proudly, “Ladies and gentlemen: The Athletes.” but she was basically speaking to an empty house.
Get used to seeing empty seats at the Olympic venues. (Photo courtesy Adrienne Lyle)
The stadium that seats 40,000 had only about 950 people there, most associated with the ceremonies themselves. No spectators are allowed. It was said and a bit spooky. I hear that cheers recorded from other Olympics will be played at some venues to encourage the athletes, but it doesn’t make up for who isn’t there. I’ll use the same word twice: spooky.
Not being part of the opening ceremony is just the price to be paid in these times. As another U.S. dressage rider, Steffen Peters (Suppenkasper) noted, it’s a small sacrifice for the privilege of being at the Games. It hasn;t been easy for staff either, who had to deal with mountains of paperwork and make all kinds of arrangements that wouldn’t be part of a Games in non-pandemic time.
U.S. Equestrian Federation Director of Sport Will Connell told me in the spring, “The challenges we have with these Games are multi-layered. From the performance side, it’s trying to insure the right competition schedule for the buildup. The U.S. has a big advantage in some disciplines (for which competition cancellations were common around the world), because we’ve been competing since last year and competed all spring, so that’s been good for us. But the Covid protocols that Tokyo is putting in place are very challenging.”
Here’s an example: the eventing, dressage and para-dressage horses were going to quarantine at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone, N.J., and fly out from the U.S. Instead, when flying direct from the U.S. to Tokyo didn’t work, the horses had to quarantine in Aachen, Germany (site of the famous horse show) and fly to Japan from there.
But it all went well and while temperatures and humidity in Japan are high this time of year, climate-controlled stables and exercise areas make things easier. Riding early in the morning or in the evening is also a help The riders are enthusiastic about the facilities and the thoughtful little touches. Adrienne cited the cherry blossoms and ringside Zen gardens, adding a sense of place.
Adrienne Lyle, the highest U.S. rider on the ranking list at number 15, jogged Salvino today in the horse inspection. (Photo courtesy of USEF).
Because of the heat, Grand Prix dressage will start at 5 p.m. Japanese time tomorrow (July 24) and run into the evening, when it will be cooler. The bad news is that with a 13-hour time difference, 5 p.m. Japanese time is 4 a.m. in the Eastern U.S. on Saturday.
I presume most of my readers will be sleeping then. But no worries, I’ll be using the livestream to blog the key riders on this website. That means not only the U.S. team, but also such important players as Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain, Catherine Dufour of Denmark and Germany’s Isabell Werth, who is likely to win individual gold and lead the German team to the same color medal. But I hear due to Covid fears that the athletes will have to put their medals around their own necks, foregoing the usual kiss and/or handshake from whatever International Olympic Committee rep usually is tasked with that honor.
There are two days of Grand Prix (Sunday’s livestream also starts at 4 a.m.) to determine which eight teams compete in the Grand Prix Special on Tuesday. The Special is the only test that decides team medals. Each team’s alternate horse and rider can be substituted before the Special, but the U.S. won’t have that option, since alternate Nick Wagman’s ride, Don John, was withdrawn before the horse inspection after sustaining an injury.
While there are questions about how show jumping and eventing will shake out with three on a team instead of the usual four and a drop score, dressage has had three member teams before. The nature of the discipline means there is less chance for fate to cause an upset than when a cross-country test or jumping is involved.
This is the first time the Special will be run to music, and the riders can pick the tunes, but the music isn’t part of the scoring. I’m wondering if perhaps it’s a prelude to dropping the Grand Prix in future Olympics and making the Special more appealing in the process.
For the individual medals, to be decided in Wednesday’s freestyle, the top 18 riders are eligible from the Grand Prix (but only two from one country). That begins at 4:30 a.m. EDT on the livestream.
Who do I think will medal? For the teams, Germany is a lock (see my comment about Isabell Werth, above). Britain is a contender with Carl (En Vogue) and Charlotte (Gio), even though both superstars are riding newbie horses with no Olympic experience; ditto the third member of that squad, Lottie Fry (Everdale).(I should just mention here that Britain and Germany also have a very strong hand in the two other Olympic disciplines, eventing and show jumping.)
The U.S. has a good shot at dressage silver or bronze. I expect American riders to be on the podium in some position. There are several countries that also might be in contention, but a few, like Denmark have just one really strong horse/rider combination (Cathrine Dufour/Bohemian) and the Netherlands (Edward Gal on Total US, a son of his famous Totilas). Sweden lost its top rider, Patrick Kittel, when his horse was injured, so that nation doesn’t seem to figure in the equation.
I’ll give you my picks for the individual medals, aside from Isabell with Bella Rose, after we finish the team competition.
So this weekend, check in to www.nancyjaffer.com when you get up to find out what’s been happening. If you are awake at 8:15 a.m. Saturday,, you can go online to watch the first U.S. rider, Sabine Schut-Kery on Sanceo. Adrienne and Steffen go on Sunday at 5:21 a.m. and 8:42 a.m.respectively
Highlights are on the NBCSN program that runs from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. with a variety of sports, but I think dressage is scheduled for 1 p.m. That can always change, so be sure to check.