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Olympism, the 19th-century philosophy of the modern Olympic Games, can be as making the world better through sport. At its heart lie three values: excellence, friendship and respect. While encouraging people to be the best they can be is an obvious feature, friendship is touted as 鈥溾�� to the Olympics compared to other sporting events.
Previous Olympics have seen athletes from diverse nations joining together in a spirit of celebration and camaraderie. Tales of festivities are usually the norm.
Tokyo 2020 is to afford participants the same experience. As Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), , this will be 鈥渢he most restrictive sporting event in the world鈥�.
As sporting events during the pandemic have included few or no spectators, televised sport has increased. But the entertainment value of these competitions should not obscure the perspective of the athletes themselves. The to their mental health and performance due to Covid-19 restrictions is well documented.
Athletes as people
Athletes, the IOC , are 鈥渢he central actors鈥� in the Olympic Games. 鈥淭hey are the role models who inspire millions of children around the world to participate in sport and reflect the Olympic ideals.鈥�
The decision to press ahead with the Games despite rising cases in Japan and beyond has put athletes in a difficult position. Morally they may even question whether they should take part, when over are not in favour of the Games taking place.
Competing in an Olympiad is often the high point in an athlete鈥檚 career, something that they have dreamed about and worked towards for all of their life. These dreams would see them celebrating with teammates as friends and family watch on.
Athletes also speak of 鈥溾��. Yet, Tokyo鈥檚 current state of emergency has seen spectators banned entirely.
that empty stadiums can impact performance in some sports, particularly for athletes from . It remains to be seen whether Olympians will value their experience competing in front of empty stands and whether the eyes of the world through television broadcasting will afford the same connection.
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New anxieties
Bach has promised that the Tokyo Games will be 鈥溾��. But the and highly transmissible delta variant is seeing higher hospital admission rates.
A of Covid-19 cases at a Japanese hotel hosting members of the Brazilian Olympic team in mid-July 2021 highlighted the risks to participants. Members of Team GB, too, were forced to isolate after coming into contact with someone with Covid-19 to Tokyo. As of July 21, linked to the Olympics had been recorded, with numbers rising daily.
Anyone flaunting (including quarantine on arrival and frequent testing) could . Such measures, while essential, are in marked contrast to the environment athletes will have experienced at previous games.
National Olympic committees have attempted to minimise the level of risk to athletes . Some, however, have refused on the grounds that potential side-effects might impact on .
As athletes have tested positive or come into contact with others who are, even while in supposedly secure environments, some nations are now withdrawing from major sporting events due to concerns over 鈥溾��. These decisions have, in turn, been criticised as hasty or made the concerned athletes. This demonstrates the complexity posed by Covid-19 and its effect on the to choose whether to compete or not.
Part of being an elite athlete, of course, is the ability to . Success is often linked to the ability to challenges. These are nonetheless unprecedented fears for athletes and sources of .
Bubble Life
Elite sport is already a highly pressurised and stressful environment. Living in the secure biosafe bubbles, that have become the new normal at events around the world, has proven to be an additional stress and to athletes鈥� mental health.
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Athlete mental health and welfare is increasingly being recognised as . Some are providing specialist support to athletes during Tokyo 2020.
Team GB has been recognised as leading the way in prioritising mental health, putting in place a support team of psychologists and specialists. The British Athletes Commission has also put in place a 24-hour hotline for athletes to and of any abuse they may recieve during the games. However, such services certainly will not be available to every nation鈥檚 team.
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For Australian basketball player Liz Cambage, the thought of a bubble Olympics, without the support of family, friends and fans was 鈥溾��. She subsequently withdrew from the Games.
Team USA Paralympic swimmer Becca Meyers, meanwhile, from the Paralympic Games due to restrictions that prevent her own carer from accompanying her. Tokyo would have been her third Olympiad. This shows that, clearly, Covid-19 restrictions are not providing an equitable or safe games for all athletes.
The athletes competing in Tokyo have taken five years to get there. They now aspire to perform while navigating not only established performance-related stresses, but also new anxieties. Medals in 2021 have the potential to be won or lost by those who can best manage the demands of competing during a global pandemic.
, Deputy Head Of Department in Department of Sport & Events Management, ; , Senior Lecturer in Sports Psychology and Coaching Sciences, , and , Professor of Masculinities, Sexualities and Sport,
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