An athletics test event brought home the reality of hosting an Olympics during the pandemic, with athletes competing in a muted atmosphere and excitement hard to muster.
"It's weird running in a stadium with no fans," US sprinter Justin Gatlin said after winning the men's 100m.The athletics meet, one of a series of test events taking place in Tokyo, involved more than 400 competitors, only nine of them from overseas. There was more noise outside the stadium on Sunday, with around 100 people protesting against an Olympics that polls show a majority of Japanese oppose.
An online petition urging the Games be cancelled has gathered more than 315,000 signatures since last Wednesday, but Games organisers insist the mega-event can be held safely with strict virus rules. The rules were similarly strict at the Diving World Cup the previous weekend, which featured more than 200 divers from almost 50 countries somersaulting in silence with no fans present.There were some frustrations, with Germany's sport director Lutz Buschkow describing the restrictions as slightly claustrophobic.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »