Original title: Half-time roundup of the Tokyo Olympics: Can’t stop the audience, can’t stop the passion
The Tokyo Olympics enters the eighth day on the 30th. Although the epidemic in Japan is getting worse, the Olympic Games held behind closed doors cannot contain the passion of athletes from all over the world. Famous flowers have their masters, and as the track and field drama unfolds, the Olympic atmosphere will surely be pushed to a climax.
When the Olympics opened a week ago, people still had doubts about it, and looked at the opening ceremony of the empty stadium even more with cold eyes. However, once the competition started, people once again realized that the protagonists of the Olympic Games will always be the athletes. The Chinese delegation won the Olympic Games’ first gold medal with Yang Qian’s brilliant performance in the shooting competition, and is currently ranked first on the gold medal list. It should still be praised for the host who has overcome many difficulties and set up the stage for the athletes.
On July 24, Yang Qian at the award ceremony.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ju Huanzong
Since the Tokyo Olympics was postponed in March last year, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee has always emphasized that the Olympics cannot be required by normal Olympic standards. As long as the athletes can stand on the field and complete the competition, it will be a success. Olympic Games. The first half of the game proved that the organizing committee did a good job in most aspects, even if there was a chaotic scene in traffic and other aspects at the beginning, as the game progressed, the organizers also made adjustments and improvements.
In the past year, all polls showed that most people opposed the Olympic Games. In the first half of this year, more than 80% of the Japanese people opposed the Olympic Games as scheduled. On the opening night of the Olympic Games, many people protested. But when the focus of the Olympics was finally transferred to the stadium, the passion also stirred the entire Japanese society through the lens.
A resident living in a high-rise residential building near the triathlon stadium said: “If you see athletes running past your eyes, you will definitely not help cheering them on. Until the opening, I was skeptical of the Olympics, but the competition started. Later, I began to realize that this is a good thing.”
On July 27th, Chinese player Zhong Mengying competed in the women’s individual triathlon finals.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ming
After the opening of the Olympic Games, a large number of spectators gathered in front of the giant five-ring logo outside the Japanese Olympic Committee to take pictures every day. According to statistics, the viewing rate of the Olympic Games exceeded 50%. After the Olympics were postponed, there was a long queue for shopping outside the Olympic souvenir shop in Menkoluoque once every day. According to the results of a poll published by the “Nikkei Shimbun” after the opening of the Olympics, the proportion of people hoping for the Olympics to be held is close to 70%.
So far, the challenge facing the Tokyo Olympic Games, apart from normalized epidemic prevention, is the early arrival of typhoons. The arrival of the typhoon has more or less affected outdoor competitions such as surfing, sailing, and archery. However, the rain brought by the typhoon greatly reduced the temperature, allowing the athletes to avoid the suffering of exposure. Some Japanese media are also optimistic that many track and field records were created before and after heavy rains. Therefore, they predict that the typhoon will bring good luck to the track and field competitions starting on the 30th. I hope this is true.
The President of the International Olympic Committee Bach is also immersed in Olympic passion. At the age of 67, he has been shuttled between various stadiums. He even went to the baseball stadium far away in Fukushima to watch the first baseball game held in the Olympic Games in 13 years. . He also braved the typhoon to go to the surfing arena by the sea, watched the women’s three-person basketball final, and planned to watch the table tennis men’s singles final.
On July 27, IOC President Bach (second from right) at the surfing competition site.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Du Yu
There are still nine days before the closing ceremony. Inside and outside the stadium, the Olympic Games are still facing the threat of the epidemic. On the 29th, the number of confirmed cases in Japan and Tokyo hit a record high, and the number of confirmed cases of Olympic-related personnel reached 193. However, among the 310,000 tests, the proportion of confirmed cases was very low. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has stated that the rebound of the epidemic is not directly related to the hosting of the Olympic Games. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike even thought that because more people stayed at home to watch the broadcast after the game started, the Olympics actually played a role in controlling the epidemic.
Because of this, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee spokesperson Masatsu Takatani said with great confidence: “The Olympics are all normal and are being held safely and securely.” (Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Zijiang Yang Ting)
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