For the second time,the countdown to Tokyo 2020 has reached the 200-day mark.Credit:AP
On Monday,the Games countdown again reached 200 days but this time,the milestone was greeted with questions,fears,reports of mind-numbing budget blowouts and worrying signs of resentment from an Olympics-weary Japanese public.
And of course,there was the virus. Outside of a few nations,it continues to ravage much of the globe,including major Olympic players in Europe and of course the USA,which has surpassed an astonishing 350,000 deaths. To make matters worse,a new,more infectious version of the disease has taken flight and is spreading like wildfire.
The Tokyo hosts and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have long billed these rebooted Games as the ultimate symbol of humanity's triumph over the pandemic. With a jaw-dropping and barely comprehensible list of logistical,security and safety issues yet to overcome,they should be content with simply getting them off the ground at all.
"The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held this summer,"Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in a New Year's message."We will make steady preparations to realise a safe and secure tournament."
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.Credit:AP
There is some good news for the IOC in the form of workable vaccines,which are beginning to be rolled out across selected nations. But that alone won't greatly assist planning,especially given the athletes are highly unlikely to get shortcuts to the front of the queue ahead of frontline health workers,the elderly and those in more at-risk categories. Which is almost everyone.
One thing is clear:these Games won't look like any we have seen in the past,or with any luck,see again. If there are crowds in the arenas and stadiums,it's likely they will be Japanese only,which would be a just reward for the nation's unfortunate Olympic experience but take away some of the partisan atmosphere on which athletes tend to thrive.