Olympics
TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS WEATHER THREAT HEIGHTENS AFTER CONSTRUCTION WORKER’S DEATH
BY PATRICK O’KANE
Fears for the welfare of athletes at Tokyo 2020 have increased after a construction worker was reported to have collapsed and died from heatstroke while working at a construction site for next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.
A total of 57 people have died across Japan as a result of a heatwave between July 29 and August 4 and the country’s main broadcaster NHK reports another 18,347 people have been taken to hospital.
The 50-year-old man was allegedly found lying on the ground yesterday afternoon outside Tokyo Big Sight – a venue that is being renovated to become the media centre for the Olympic and Paralympic Games – where he had been laying electric cables.
He was rushed to hospital but later confirmed dead, according to Tokyo 2020 organisers.
NHK reports that 45 people have died in Tokyo since August 1, with temperatures remaining above 31 degrees celsius since July 24.
Concerns over heat rose last year after Japan suffered a record heatwave amid temperatures of 41.1 degrees celsius.
The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee had already introduced a number of countermeasures to deal with the expected heat at the Olympic Games, scheduled to run between July 24 and August 9 next year.
Organisers are considering allowing spectators to take their own bottled water into venues under certain conditions, which had previously been prevented at past editions of the Games due to security and sponsorship.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has been installing special coatings on the city centre’s roads, including areas of the marathon course, with materials that are expected to suppress temperature rises by as much as eight degrees celsius.
At the recent beach volleyball test event in Tokyo, misting sprays and air-conditioned tents were among features trialled to combat the effects of rising temperatures.
In their latest efforts to combat soaring temperatures, Tokyo 2020 organisers launched an air-conditioning system at Saitama Stadium, a stadium due to host football matches at the Games, which uses icy water made from snow.
The cold air from the water is blown by fans to circulate in a nine-metres-long tent-like covered passage that arches up to about 2.5m tall.
The men’s and women’s Olympic marathon races will start at 6am, 90 minutes earlier than originally planned.
On Tuesday (August 6), the International Paralympic Committee confirmed marathons at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games had been rescheduled.
The start time of the five events has been brought forward from 7am to 6:30am.
A statement from Tokyo 2020 said: “We would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the deceased man’s family and friends.
“While at this stage the precise cause of his death remains unknown, local police confirmed it was not necessary to proceed with a criminal investigation.
“Today we instructed all construction companies under contract to Tokyo 2020 to ensure they properly implement and manage all appropriate health and safety measures at their workplaces.
“We will continue to ask them to ensure thorough safety in their operations to avoid any possible accidents.”
-insidethegames
Roy Jones Jr has been handed the Olympic gold medal he was controversially denied in 1988 in an extraordinary act of sportsmanship by the South Korean fighter who beat him.
Hall of Fame boxer Jones shared a video on Wednesday from two years ago that showed Park Si-hun visiting the American’s ranch in Pensacola, Florida to present him with the light middleweight gold medal.
“I had the gold medal, but I want to give it back to you. It belongs to you,” Park said in the video through his son, who translated.
Jones, who was overcome with emotion by the gesture, covered his face with his hand before saying: “Wow, that is crazy.”
Their match at the Seoul Olympics remains one of boxing’s most contentious moments as Jones appeared to dominate the fight but lost to Park by a 3-2 decision that drew instant criticism and sparked enduring controversy.
Despite losing the gold medal match, Jones was selected as the Val Barker Trophy winner as the best boxer of the 1988 Olympics.
Jones went on to become a four-division world champion and is regarded as one of the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighters of all time.
“In 1988, I was robbed of the gold medal in what became one of the biggest controversies in boxing history,” Jones wrote in his Instagram post.
“By the grace of God, a couple of years ago, the man who won that medal made the trip from South Korea to my home to return it to me, feeling it was rightfully mine.
“I hope you enjoy this moment as much as I did.”
-Reuters
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U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday creating a White House Olympics task force to handle security and other issues related to the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, an administration official told Reuters.
The task force, made up of members from Trump’s cabinet and government agencies, will coordinate federal, state and local government work on transportation, the official said.
It also will “streamline visa processing and credentialing for foreign athletes, coaches, officials, and media,” the official said in an email.
The United States will host the Olympics in Los Angeles in three years. Trump, a Republican who lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden, has expressed pleasure that his second term will coincide with the Olympics and the World Cup.
“During his first term, President Trump was instrumental in securing America’s bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The president considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle in his second term,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Monday.
Last month organizers of the Los Angeles games released the first look at the Olympic competition schedule . The city had also hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984.
“The creation of this task force marks an important step forward in our planning efforts and reflects our shared commitment to delivering not just the biggest, but the greatest Games the world has ever seen in the summer of 2028,” Casey Wasserman, the chair and president of LA28, said in a statement.
–Reuters
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By DAVID LEE
Home is many places for swimmer Adaku Nwandu, who was born in China, lives in Singapore and wears the Nigeria flag on her swimsuit.
And it is at her current home in Singapore that the 17-year-old is making her debut at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH).
In the second heat of the 100m freestyle at the WCH Arena, the teenager, who has a Nigerian father and Chinese mother, led at the turn before finishing third in 1min 0.89sec – she eventually placed 59th out of 82 athletes overall.
After her race, Adaku shared with The Straits Times that she was born and raised in Shanghai, and started swimming when she was eight. Interestingly, it was ice cream that kept her in the sport.
Adaku, who still has the 50m freestyle heats on Aug 2, said: “At a school competition, I didn’t do so well and I asked my dad if we could make a deal. He said if I do better, he would buy me ice cream once every week, and that’s a promise we have kept with each other. And that’s what brought me here.”
In 2023, the family moved to Singapore due to her mother’s work posting. With her fluent Mandarin and love for Asian and spicy food, it did not take long for her to pick up Singlish and enjoy local delights like chicken rice and chilli crab.
She said: “We came here mainly because of my mother’s work, and also because the swimming scene back where I lived in China was a little bit toxic, so she also thought Singapore would be a new experience and better for my swimming.”
By then, she had already committed to representing Nigeria after its aquatics association contacted her after the National Sports Festival in Asaba, where the then 16-year-old was part of the national record-breaking women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team.
But Singapore is where she has been honing her swimming skills, as she has set her 50m and 100m freestyle long- and short-course Nigeria national records at meets here.
Noting her improvements, Singapore swimming coach and performance director Gary Tan said: “Adaku has been participating in our system for a while, and we hope it helps her develop as a swimmer and achieve what she wants while training in Singapore with her school (German European School Singapore).”
For someone who is inspired by Olympic champions David Popovici, Caeleb Dressel and Adam Peaty for “their dedication and the way they are able to take breaks for themselves to improve and get back to the water”, qualifying for Paris 2024 on ranking points was a dream come true.
Her Olympic debut was also unforgettable as her swimsuit ripped 20 minutes before her 50m freestyle heat, but she managed to finish second in her heat and 33rd out of 78th overall in 26.62 seconds, just 0.03 of a second off her personal best.
Back in Singapore, Adaku, who is in the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme at her school, realised that she needed more of such resilience to reach her goals.
The swimmer, who also plays for the school’s volleyball team, said: “I had a lot of improvement the first year I came to Singapore. But this past year has been especially hard for me with family problems and also school. The workload in my first year of IB made it hard to balance training and school.
“Especially in the next year, I want to focus more on swimming and try to get some new personal bests because this year I just plateaued. I’m looking forward to training harder and preparing for my next competition and hopefully qualify for the next Olympics.”
-Strait Times, Singapore
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