Olympic Games 2021 in Tokyo: 100 days before the Olympics

Enlarge image

Sprint of the decathletes in Rio 2016. Olympic qualifications are still pending, especially in athletics

Photo: Matthias Hangst / Getty Images

There are still one hundred days until the opening of the Olympic Games in Tokyo on July 23 - if they take place as planned.

The only thing that is clear is that there will be no summer games like ever before.

The corona pandemic has not only led to the postponement of the games by a year, but has also disrupted the preparation of athletes and organizations worldwide.

On Wednesday, the organizers unveiled the Olympic rings on Takao Mountain near Tokyo as a symbol of confidence.

"The games will be a celebration of resilience, solidarity and our common humanity," said organizer Seiko Hashimoto.

But what is the current situation in Japan anyway?

Are all athletes already certain of their qualifications?

What should the games look like - and is there anything left of their fascination?

An overview of the status quo.

Could the games be postponed again or even canceled?

It is very unlikely.

The International Olympic Committee, respectively President Thomas Bach, has repeatedly assured over the past few weeks that the Games will take place and that there is no "Plan B".

IOC Vice President John Coates also ruled out a short-term Olympic cancellation 100 days before the start of the event.

The summer games "will take place as planned," he said in an IOC video.

"The athletes, the Olympic movement, the organizers and the Japanese people will be able to show that it is a victory for mankind over the pandemic."

A lot of money is also at stake for the IOC.

The same is true for the host Japan, which has already paid an estimated 1.6 billion euros for the relocation by one year.

Once again, the country will not want to afford that - especially since the games are so controversial among the population.

What is the current situation in Japan?

According to medical experts, Japan is at the beginning of a fourth wave of infections (the current development can be found in the graphic at the end of the paragraph).

The country started vaccinating late, and around one percent of the 126 million Japanese are currently protected from the virus.

Tokyo and other cities have therefore tightened the measures against the pandemic again.

The rejection of the games in the population has been enormous for months.

According to surveys, over 80 percent of Japanese are now against holding the games as planned.

The public torch relay for the metropolis of Osaka was canceled last week for fear of the virus.

What does all this mean for the games?

The organizers already decided at the end of March that no foreign spectators would be admitted to the games.

The number of officials and other parties involved is also to be greatly reduced.

It has not yet been decided whether locals will be allowed to attend the competitions.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also recently published guidelines that are to be continuously updated until the Games.

It contains rules of conduct for everyone involved, as well as entry and exit, such as mask requirements, distances and other hygiene rules, but also regular corona tests.

Max Hartung from the athletes' representative "Athletes Germany" criticized the current form in relation to SPIEGEL, however, as being too vague, especially about training and competitions.

The manuals should be revised again until the games, depending on the current situation.

It is foreseeable, however, that contacts outside of the Olympic bubble should be avoided - and that they should also be limited to what is absolutely necessary within.

The meeting of people from all over the world, especially the athletes themselves, is otherwise a core of the fascination of Olympia.

It won't be like that in Tokyo.

Enlarge image

Judoka Theresa Stoll is already qualified for Tokyo, but unsettled because of the pandemic

Photo: 

Eibner / imago images

How do the athletes deal with the situation?

Often unsettled.

Recently, there were dozens of corona cases at some large events despite supposedly strict hygiene concepts.

Competitions in fencing, track and field, and judo seemed to have become super-spreader events.

The German teams were also affected by the outbreaks.

Worries about incomplete concepts, fear of possible contagion in competition and all of this on one's own responsibility cause problems for many athletes.

At the same time, the athletes also felt the pressure to prepare for the Olympics.

Judoka Theresa Stoll described it to SPIEGEL as follows: “For us athletes, it is always a consideration.

Do I currently need the competitions for Olympic points?

Do I need them for practice and routine or for self-confidence?

Others ask themselves: How do I stand in the qualification?

Is it getting tight?

(...) We take the risk because Olympia is our dream. "

At the same time, several cases in the German Olympic team recently showed that athletes, just because they are young and fit, are by no means protected from the severe courses of Covid 19 disease.

Wrestler Frank Stäbler, for example, reported significant performance losses.

The canoeist Steffi Kriegerstein even had to cancel her participation in the Olympics because even months later she had difficulties climbing stairs and the run to the bus.

Read the interview about your medical history here:

As a lobby group, »Athleten Deutschland« recently urged athletes to be more closely involved in the planning of hygiene and safety concepts.

The club itself has set up a hotline to advise concerned athletes around Tokyo.

Have the qualifications already been completed?

Far from it.

According to information from the DOSB, around half of the 400 or so Tokyo drivers in the German team have secure tickets.

The rest of them still have to qualify through tournaments or rankings, there are also national qualifying competitions for quota places that have already been secured.

Most places are still available in athletics (38), rowing (22) and canoeing (15 racing, 3 slalom).

Enlarge image

DOSB President Hörmann

Photo: 

Guido Kirchner / dpa

Will the athletes arrive vaccinated?

It differs from country to country.

Some nations, such as Israel, have preferred their athletes to be vaccinated.

This has not yet been the case in Germany.

In response to a request from SPIEGEL, the DOSB announced that around twelve percent of the squad eligible for the games had already been vaccinated.

Some were given the opportunity to do so through their employers, for example as members of the sports promotion groups of the Bundeswehr and the police.

DOSB President Alfons Hörmann has been urging politicians in the last few days to offer the whole team a vaccination offer before they leave.

An offer from the IOC, which apparently wants to procure vaccine doses for all Olympic participants through a deal with China, is out of the question for Germany: the vaccine has not yet been approved for the EU.

There are also a number of athletes in the German team who refuse to be vaccinated before the games: According to information from the DOSB, around ten percent.

It is not yet clear whether this will cause problems for entering Japan.

What risk remains?

This can hardly be assessed at the current time without the final hygiene concepts.

IOC Vice President John Coates assured only today: "It will be the safest games that are possible." However, experts warn that the games could become a super-spreader event.

Around 11,000 athletes and even more supervisors and journalists from all over the world come together at the Olympic Games, and two weeks later at the Paralympics there are another 4,300 athletes plus appendices (August 24 to September 5).

North Korea has already canceled its participation due to the pandemic.