Athletes and sports bodies are disappointed to the news there will be no spectators at the Tokyo Olympics. However, they said that this will not have an impact on performance.
On Thursday, organizers of Tokyo Olympics announced that there will be no spectators. This decision was based on the fact there has been a resurgent novel coronavirus which forced Japan to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo.
“In the midst of just being lined up with the best in the world, you are not really worried about who is in the stands,” said one of the athletes.
“You are just worried about going out and competing to the best of their abilities.”
“While the atmosphere will be very different, the athletes will be 100 per cent focused on what they need to do to be successful and achieve their goals.”
however, not all people were disappointed. For example, the New Zealand Olympic Committee stated that they had prepared their athletes for a scenario where there are no fans.
“Our athletes have generally prepared with no spectators in mind, it was a specific part of their process around these Olympic Games,” said team psychologist Kylie Wilson.
Some of the athletes were not happy by the organizers’ decision to ban spectators from the Tokyo Olympics. For instance, Nick Kyrgious – Australian tennis player- pulled out of the games on Thursday and said “the thought of playing in front of empty stands just doesn’t sit right with me”.
The Tokyo Olympic Games shall commence on 23 July 2021.
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