Overseas fans were banned for the first time in the history of the Games, and domestic spectators were allowed to watch events...
COVER STORY
After a year-long pandemic postponement and a build-up marred by scandal and controversy, the empty seats provided a sullen, silent reminder that these unusual Olympics have been staged against the will of many in Japan, where the coronavirus pandemic is surging. Overseas fans were banned for the first time in the history of the Games, and domestic spectators were allowed to watch events only at a handful of venues; even then, capacities were severely limited.
This is what peak performance looks like. Who cares how it’s clothed?
Germany’s female gymnasts stood out from other competitors during a team qualifying round by wearing unitards, rather than traditional leotards. They wanted to show that every woman, everybody in fact, should decide what to wear. The coaches, too, wanted the players to feel the most confident and comfortable in any case.
These are the first Summer Games being staged since the Larry Nassar scandal rocked the world of gymnastics. At his sentencing, athletes — some of them Olympians — described how the sport’s culture allowed for abuse and objectification of young women and girls.
How fear affects the mental health and physical safety of gymnasts
Gymnastics is obviously physically demanding with a high injury rate. But it is extremely difficult psychologically as well. For every perfect, floaty flip performed in competition, there are thousands done in practice, many of them ending with haunting near-misses.
When Simone Biles pulled out of the competition, she said it was not because of a physical injury, but her mental health. Biles’s decision to protect herself marks a shift from the old way gymnastics worked in the US; the contestants realise that they have to prioritise their own well-being and everything else comes later, including winning championships.
Surfing makes waves at the Olympics for the first time
Surfing has deep roots, but for the first time, surfers were competing for medals at the Summer Olympics. 40 Olympians gave it their all through three days of fierce competition and a literal typhoon. Whether it was a teammate or an opponent, the world’s best had each other’s backs every step of the way cheering each other on, pushing each other further, and keeping each other safe. Brazil’s Italo Ferreira claimed the sport’s first ever Olympic gold medal, and Carissa Moore of the US duly followed suit in the women’s competition.
Tatjana Schoenmaker sets world record to win gold in 200-meter breaststroke
South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker set the first individual swimming world record. In the 200-meter breaststroke, Schoenmaker lived up to expectations, topping King and Lazor and claiming both a world record (2 minutes, 18.95 seconds) and also South Africa’s first gold of the Games.
An San becomes 1st archer to win triple gold at one Olympics
Republic of Korea’s An San marked her name in the history books when she won the women’s individual archery event in Tokyo and became the South Korean triple gold medalist at a Summer Olympics.
Elena Osipova of the Russian Olympic Committee claimed silver in the Archery women’s individual event. Italy’s Lucilla Boari won bronze and became the first Italian woman to win a medal in archery at the Olympic Games.
Earlier, An San also broke a 25-year-old Olympic record by posting a score of 680 in the women’s individual ranking round. An, alongside Kim Je-deok, also became the first-ever winner of the inaugural Olympic mixed team archery event. And with the third gold, the Republic of Korea has won nine of the last 10 Olympic Games in the women’s individual event. Moreover, she is the first athlete with three gold medals in Tokyo.
Despite winning three golds, An San’s short haircut attracted anti-feminist sentiment at home. The trolls even asked for her medals to be taken away.
Shriever and Whyte cap remarkable journey to BMX gold and silver for GB
After a delirious day of BMX racing, Beth Shriever, 22, and Kye Whyte, 21, emerged as Great Britain’s first ever BMX medallists within minutes of each other as Whyte clinched a silver medal in the men’s race just before Shriever closed off a day of dominance by becoming the Olympic champion in the women’s event.
It marks a moment of validation for both after the unique paths they have blazed. For the pair – a black BMX rider from Peckham and the only woman in her training setup with no funding from UK Sport – this is also an opportunity to help shape the sport in their images, inspiring the next generation, inspiring more girls to get involved especially.
Tiny San Marino won its first ever Olympic medal
For a microstate, it was no small feat: San Marino, a landlocked country entirely hemmed in by Italy, became the least populous nation ever to nab a medal at the Olympics when Alessandra Perilli won the bronze medal in the women’s trap shooting final, a first for the country of roughly 34,000 residents.
San Marino replaced Bermuda as the record holder, two days after Flora Duffy won the island nation’s second medal, but first gold, in the women’s triathlon.
It took a woman to end the Philippines’ 97-year Olympic gold medal drought
The Philippine national anthem played at the Olympics for the first time in history following Filipina Hidilyn Diaz win in the women’s 55 kg category for weightlifting. The 30-year old weightlifter and Philippine Air Force sergeant set two Olympic records in the process and ended the country’s near-century quest for an Olympic gold medal.
Diaz, who has been part of Olympics four times and won a silver medal at the Rio Games, has had a particularly challenging journey to the Tokyo games. She was stranded in Malaysia during the Covid-19 lockdown and was even falsely implicated in a plot to overthrow the Philippines’s strongman president Rodrigo Duterte in 2019.
A historic first on home soil!
Momiji Nishiya has become the country’s youngest gold medal winner at 13 as she clinched the Olympic title in the women’s street skateboarding competition, proving that age is just a number.
On the Olympic podium with her on Monday, two other female athletes – Rayssa Leal and Funa Nakayama – stood wearing silver and bronze medals around their necks, rewards for landing tricks most kids their age only get to see on Instagram.
Tunisian teenager stuns world with victory in Olympics pool
Ahmed Hafnaoui of Tunisia was the surprise winner of the 400-meter freestyle, beating a field of faster and older swimmers. The 18-year-, the youngest swimmer in the final, finished in 3 minutes, 43.26 seconds, punctuating his victory with loud yelling that echoed in the mostly empty 15,000-seat arena.
He’s the second-youngest athlete from an African nation to win a swimming gold; Joan Harrison of South Africa was 16 when she won the 100 backstroke at the 1952 Helsinki Games.
Fight for the dreams!
By qualifying for Tokyo last year, Hend Zaza had became the youngest competitor in these Games, the youngest table tennis entrant of all time, and the youngest overall Olympian since the 1968 Winter Olympics. Making her debut in the preliminary round of the women’s singles, she showed off her talent before eventually falling to a veteran, the 39-year-old Liu Jia of Austria, who has competed in three Olympic Games before Zaza was even born.
Such a vast age gap is something that Zaza has become well adjusted to in her short time in the spotlight. She reached the Olympics aged 11 by winning the Western Asia Olympic Qualification tournament in February last year, defeating 42-year-old Mariana Sahakian.
While her age alone is remarkable, the obstacles that Zaza has cleared to reach her Olympic dreams underline the importance of her progress. Born in the city of Hama, she struggled to find paddles and balls while she trained on a concrete floor and worn tables. Due to the war, she was often unable to travel to international competitions. When she could, acquiring visas to reach them was yet another obstacle. Her message to everyone is loud and clear: Fight for your dreams, try hard, regardless of the difficulties that you’re having, and you will reach your goal.
Talha – first weightlifter from Pakistan in 44 years
After a gap of 44 years, Pakistan was featured in the weightlifting competition at the Tokyo Olympics with Talha Talib representing the country at the global stage.
Talha, competing in the 67kg men’s weightlifting contest, was on top of the race for a while before being surpassed by athletes from China, Colombia, and Italy in final attempts.
The 21-year-old weightlifter entered the competition without a coach, yet he proved his mettle.
In an interview ahead of the Olympics, Talha had highlighted how the Pakistan Sports Board did not organise any training camp for weightlifters for the last three years.
He added that he had trained himself at a makeshift gym in courtyard of a school in Gujranwala as he didn’t receive any adequate facility from the board.
Talha, a gold medalist in the Commonwealth Games, finished fifth in the competition. Although he couldn’t win a medal, he received praise from all over the country for his superb performance.
Misenga – a DRC refugee hoping to inspire millions at the Olympics
The Refugee Olympic Team has almost tripled in size since their debut at Brazil in 2016, from 10 to 29 members, comprising athletes from 11 countries living and training in 13 host countries. This was also the first year that there was a Refugee Paralympic Team.
The team represents 12 sports – athletics, badminton, boxing, canoeing, cycling, judo, karate, taekwondo, sport of shooting, swimming, weightlifting, and wrestling.
Popole Misenga, who was representing the Refugee Olympic Team for a second time, reminded everyone that refugees too have dreams to be someone and to do something they like: “Never let your dreams die. Make sure you pursue them. I dream a lot about winning a medal for my team and have more beautiful stories to tell for the millions of refugees around the world. Now I stand very close to that.”
