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AOC chief executive Matt Carroll has said team vaccinations need to begin in May to ensure it was done in time for the Olympics.Credit:Sam Mooy

“While vulnerable Australians remain an absolute priority as the vaccine rollout continues,national cabinet understands the pressure our high-performance athletes have been facing as the Tokyo Games draw closer,” Colbeck said.

“This will be a very different Olympics and Paralympics but our athletes deserve the opportunity to compete.”

Negotiations had been ongoing between the AOC and federal government for months but with time running out ahead of the July 23 start date in Tokyo,theAOC had pleaded for some urgency. Part of that pitch included a war-gamed scenario in which some 100 athletes would present to the Athletes Village carrying a variant of coronavirus.

That represents one in every 110 athletes given the estimated 11,000 occupants of the Village,although with the transient nature of this edition of the Games,in which teams and athletes will arrive late and leave after their events,it’s impossible to know how many will be there at any given time.

It’s an alarming figure that suggests it’s almost inevitable Australian athletes will be in direct contact with COVID-positive athletes,no matter how stringent the restrictions put in place by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo organisers.

“We understand the enormous effort being undertaken by our Japanese hosts and the IOC to provide an appropriate environment by Games time,” the AOC said.

“The world’s athletes are coming to Tokyo and the Australian Olympic Committee is doing everything it can to protect the team in their journey to Japan,during the Games and returning home.”

Given their projections,it came as no surprise that AOC chief executive Matt Carroll welcomed the outcome,saying it would come as a major relief to the members of its team,which stands to be between 430-480 strong.

“There will be hundreds of very grateful athletes,coaches and their families relieved to know that their hard work over five years has been worth it. This added layer of assurance is what they were seeking,” Carroll said.

Carroll has assured the public that athletes won’t take up valuable medical resources the mini rollout would be funded and completed in conjunction with Aspen Medical,one of the AOC’s established partners.

Olympic champion swimmer Cate Campbell was one of the first Australian athletes to go public on the vaccination front,saying in January thatcompetitors deserved to be protected when they travelled do their job at the Games.

She said the news was a huge boost and it was in the national interest to vaccinate Olympians given their potential exposure to COVID and the risk of returning home with the virus.

“It’s such good news. Looking at the state of the rest of the world,I have come to the conclusion that it’s near impossible to keep COVID out of the Village. It’s really reassuring,” Campbell toldThe Sydney Morning HeraldandThe Age.

“For those people who say we are queue jumper,it’s actually going to protect the population. A lot of the other major countries,their athletes are going in with that layer of protection. It was concerning for me that we may not have that protection so it’s fantastic news.”

The decision brings Australia into line with nations like New Zealand,the USA and Germany,who have already started the process of vaccinating their Olympians as they head to a Games in which it’s almost certain outbreaks will occur given the huge numbers of inbound competitors,staff and media.

The IOC was due to release its updated instalment of its athlete COVID ‘Playbook’ in coming days,which will further outline the protocols set to be put in place to try and protect Olympians from the virus,which is rampant in parts of the world like India,while Tokyo itself is in a state of emergency as the nation grapples with a another wave.

Already,the federal government hasruled out any quarantine exemptions for returning Olympians,with a hard 14-day lockdown looming regardless of the vaccination status. The AOC had hoped to be able to organise AFL-style resort hubs to encapsulate its competitors and officials.

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