TOKYO—The Games of the XXXII Olympiad—an edition that would go down in history as the most unique, no thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic—come off the wraps with Friday’s opening ceremony that, mathematically, was more than five-and-a-half years in the making.
Originally scheduled almost exactly a year ago today, the Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee stood their ground in making sure the Games would go on despite the surge of virus infections that spurred the Japanese government to put Tokyo under a state of emergency.
And for Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, the 19 Filipino athletes competing in the Olympics, trying to beat their opponents is as heavy as the task of avoiding getting infected.
“Our athletes and coaches, even us officials, have two opponents in these Olympics—their rivals in the competition and Covid-19,” Tolentino said.
One Philippine coach showed potential symptoms of the virus on Thursday, scaring not only the entire delegation here, but back home as well.
But that was immediately addressed by Tolentino and Chef de Mission Mariano “Nonong” Araneta. “We, in coordination with the coach’s national sports association, decided to isolate the coach from Team Philippines even before the result of his confirmatory test comes out,” Tolentino said.
Other than that virus scare though, Team Philippines’s quest for the country’s first gold medal will commence at the Seaforest Waterway on Tokyo Bay starting at 8:30 a.m. (Tokyo time) on Friday, with Cris Nievarez plunging into the men’s single sculls heat of rowing.
Image courtesy of AP/Hiro Komae
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