Sport Tokyo Olympics test events to resume in March

Tokyo Olympics test events will resume in March and a decision on fan attendance will come in the spring, an official said on Friday, as preparations continued for the postponed Games despite ongoing coronavirus fears.

© CHARLY TRIBALLEAU Tokyo hosted an international gymnastics event this month

The comments from Yasuo Mori, deputy executive director of the Games Operations Bureau, come after International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach last week said he was "very confident" the Games will have fans.

The Tokyo Olympics were postponed for a year over the coronavirus, becoming the first to be rescheduled in peace time. The 2020 Games will now start on July 23, 2021.

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Olympic officials and the international sports federations responsible for staging the events in Tokyo have been in constant contact with the World Pilson explained that, in the event of a postponement, the ad rates NBC sold for the Tokyo Games would not be applicable, and its agreements with the IOC

TOKYO (AP) -- Despite the spreading virus, Tokyo Olympic organizers have finally held a test event . The recent outbreak of the coronavirus has forced Preseason baseball is being played without fans, the soccer J-League is suspended until March 18, and a spring sumo event will be contested in an

"We are... thinking about what kind of Tokyo 2020 Games we are going to have in terms of spectators," Mori told reporters, adding that government policy on the matter "will probably be decided in the spring."

Most of the test events, which function as dress rehearsals for each sport, had already taken place before the Games were delayed in March.

But 18 remain to be held, including a trial run of the Olympic marathon which was relocated from Tokyo to the northern city of Sapporo due to concerns over the capital's summer heat.

However, no date was announced for the marathon test, with Mori saying further discussions were needed. Sapporo is in the Hokkaido region, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus.

"For the marathon, we're going to use a public road, and we need the local people's opinion. All that needs to be taken into consideration when we decide if we can have a marathon test event in Sapporo," Mori said.

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Tokyo has been preparing for the Summer Olympics since winning the bid in 2013.Credit Jae C. Hong/Associated Press. On July 24, as far as the organizers of the Olympics are still concerned, thousands of athletes will march as scheduled into the national stadium in Tokyo for the opening

The Tokyo Olympics have now been postponed until July 23, 2021. We've got answers to all your questions—and some tricks to help you plan your trip to Where are the 2021 Olympics ? The Games will be held in more than 40 venues, the majority in and around Tokyo , with some events for soccer

Fans and foreign athletes will be allowed at some of the test events, which will also be used to assess anti-coronavirus measures and contingency plans.

The tests were announced as spiralling infections and new lockdowns worldwide prompt renewed concerns over the Olympics.

But organisers have been upbeat. Bach, on a visit to Tokyo, said athletes would be encouraged but not required to take a vaccine, if one is available.

This month Tokyo successfully staged a four-nation gymnastics competition in front of a socially distanced crowd that was told not to shout or cheer.

Japan has seen a relatively small coronavirus outbreak overall, with just over 2,000 deaths and 137,000 confirmed cases.

But it is now battling a third wave of the respiratory disease, reporting record numbers of daily infections nationwide in recent days.

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