Athletes face expulsion

TOKYO • Athletes could be kicked out of the Tokyo Olympics if they violate virus rules including daily testing and mask-wearing, organisers said yesterday as they unveiled updated guidelines just over five weeks before the Games start on July 23.

The latest and final version of the rules for athletes runs 70 pages, complete with comic strips intended to explain the complex web of rules that organisers say will keep the Games safe.

Officials hope the restrictions will build confidence among Japan's sceptical public that the Games can be held safely even though the Covid-19 pandemic has not yet been brought under control.

Olympic officials and Tokyo 2020 organisers emphasised new specific penalties for athletes if they violate rules - including warnings, fines or even "temporary or permanent ineligibility or exclusion from the Games".

"We expect you to play by the rules, but if you don't, there will be sanctions that could be coming your way," said Pierre Ducrey, Olympic Games operations director for the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

With just weeks to go, Tokyo is under its third state of emergency and no decision has yet been taken on whether any domestic spectators will even be allowed to attend, after overseas fans were banned earlier this year.

A ruling on whether there will be a crowd will only be made after the emergency is lifted on June 20, although reports suggest some countermeasures will still be in place in Tokyo to maintain the safety of the Games.

Organisers are trying to shift the narrative, emphasising the safety measures they are taking and that the majority of athletes and those in the Olympic Village will be vaccinated and kept away from the Japanese public.

"The playbooks are there to be followed, no transgressions," IOC Games director Christophe Dubi said.

However, officials did not clarify whether sanctions meant that athletes could be barred from future Olympics as well as Tokyo nor was it specified which sanctions would apply for which violations. The size of any potential fines was also not disclosed.

A disciplinary committee will be charged with weighing any violations and potential punishments.

As organisers count down to the opening ceremony, Olympic officials have begun arriving in Tokyo, including IOC vice-president John Coates, who is the point man for the body and is overseeing Games operations. The Australian landed yesterday morning and will be based in Japan until the Games end on Aug 8.

Ahead of his arrival, several dozen people protested against the Games in Tokyo, but with the first foreign athletes already in the country and Olympic officials arriving, the mood may be shifting.

A new poll published late on Monday showed 64 per cent now support it going ahead and the survey done by national broadcaster NHK found 31 per cent of respondents wanted the Games to be called off, down from 49 per cent in May.

In Ota City, north of Tokyo, several hundred residents turned out yesterday to watch Australia's softball team train after they became the first Olympic athletes to arrive in Japan last week.

"I hope they will hold the Games with spectators," Michiyo Saito, 54, said. "They came from very far away, so I wanted to support them in any small way I can.

"I am scared of the coronavirus. But as they seem to have anti-virus measures in place, I thought it would be okay."

Around 84 per cent of athletes coming to Tokyo have already been vaccinated, Coates told the Australian Financial Review newspaper before departing for Tokyo, where he will be quarantined for the first three days.

"We can never get to 100 per cent, I don't imagine, but we can try and identify who hasn't been vaccinated and ensure they're vaccinated," he added.

Athletes from some Asian and African countries are being flown to Qatar for vaccines, while South American athletes are being flown to Miami and Houston for shots organised by the IOC, he added.

Tokyo 2020 organisers yesterday added that they were setting a target of 70 to 80 per cent of the media covering the Olympics this summer to be vaccinated.

Every sports delegation arriving in Japan will have a Covid-19 liaison officer and athletes and members of the media, whose movements will be restricted, will be subject to Global Positioning System monitoring for the first 14 days of their stay in Japan.

Athletes and close contacts will be tested every day, while all participants must have two negative tests before arrival, officials have said.

The use of public transport for the first 14 days has been banned and all travellers must eat in specific locations with special hygiene rules.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS