Securing 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries to reach a selected city in 16 days is a logistical challenge even in the most favorable circumstances, according to U.S. media reports. Not to mention that at the time of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic has disrupted airline flight schedules and led to the closure of international borders.
For hundreds of Olympic organizers, the opening of the Tokyo Olympics in just a dozen days is a very headache. Leaving aside medal counts and post-race parties, athletes are halfway through arriving in Japan on time.
Fiji, a small island nation in the South Pacific known for its pristine beaches and tropical oceans, will not be in economy class, but instead fly from Nadi to Narita on cargo planes that typically transport frozen seafood. Athletes include men and women in seven-a-side football, as well as a number of other athletes, including some swimmers.
Lorraine Marr, President of the Fiji Sports Association and National Olympic Committee, said: "Travel is definitely a major challenge and Fiji Airways does not currently have any commercial flights, so we will be using Cargo Airlines. Mal also said Fiji was trying to coordinate with other South Pacific countries to run around the other islands and rally everyone together, but that wouldn't work commercially.
Mal said athletes in Papua New Guinea plan to fly first to Brisbane and then to Tokyo, while athletes from Samoa may fly to Auckland before flying with Air New Zealand. Sports teams from other countries have found that they must detour thousands of miles before heading to Japan.
Under normal circumstances, the Sri Lankan delegation would fly to Singapore and from there to Tokyo. But with an average of 2,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, Sri Lanka in southern India has been added to the no-fly list for many countries. Singapore doesn't even allow anyone with recent sri Lankan travel experience to transit.
According to Sri Lanka's National Olympic Committee President Suresh Subramanyam, teams in 10 events, including badminton, judo and archery, have booked tickets to Qatar Airways through Doha. In addition, they informed SriLankan Airlines that a backup flight was prepared in case the situation changed.
Subramanyam said: "I hope and pray that once we go to Japan, no one will get sick. We have an additional doctor with us this time to deal with any COVID-19-related conditions that may arise. We took every precaution. ”
Although most of the athletes were vaccinated and Olympic organizers required athletes to test negative for covid-19 before arriving, there were some disturbing circumstances. A member of Uganda's Olympic team tested positive in Japan last month, though he was vaccinated earlier.
Jamaican sprinter Shelly Ann Fraser, who is facing an intricate array of stopover flights, stopovers and paperwork to get to Tokyo, said two-time Olympic champion Fraser: "I have a Jamaican passport, so travel is more difficult for me. ”
For the 34-year-old sprinter, it was a journey of more than 8,000 miles. Fraser expects she will travel from her home in Kingston to Miami, then to London and finally to Tokyo. The cheapest fare in economy class from Kingston to Tokyo is close to $5,000 due to higher fares due to the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian delegation, made up of nearly 300 athletes who would compete in fencing, skateboarding, shooting, swimming and gymnastics, had to scramble to fly with Lufthansa after its original operator, Air Canada, cancelled the delegation's flights via Toronto.
Brazilian Olympic Committee President Teixeira said: "Due to the pandemic, we have had to make some necessary changes, which require creativity. He added that even shipping sports equipment to Tokyo was "a real war operation."
Another particular logistical problem with hosting the Olympics during the pandemic is that many athletes are unable to train in locations where they are not normally located. The difficulty of international travel also makes it very difficult to participate in the necessary qualifiers.
Argentine sailor Santiago Lange, one of the gold medalists at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was one of the lucky ones to have traveled from South America to Sicily, Italy, where wind and weather conditions are similar to those in Japan. But Langer said: "We usually have at least 90 days to understand the situation, but now we only have 8 days." These 8 days were not enough for our special sport. ”
Affected by the epidemic, last year's Tokyo Olympic Games were postponed for one year and are scheduled to open on July 23 this year.
Proofreader: Liu Jun