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BETH:

From Schwartz Media, I’m Beth Atkinson-Quinton, this is 7am.

They may be 12 months late, but the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are finally here. After being postponed last year the 22nd Summer Games officially begin tonight, in the middle of Japan’s third wave of COVID-19 and amidst a pandemic that is still raging across the world. Tens of thousands of athletes and officials have poured into Tokyo, but stadiums will be empty, with fans prohibited from taking part. But, with athletes pulling out and more and more participants testing positive for Covid-19, are the games worth it?

Today, journalist Kieran Pender on what it’s like to have front row seats to the biggest experiment in the world right now.

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BETH:

Kieran, last time we spoke to you, we weren't even sure if the games were going to go ahead, but here we are. Tell me, where are you speaking to me from?

KIERAN:

Hi, I'm speaking to you from my hotel in Japan, so I guess they really are going ahead. It's feeling a bit claustrophobic. So I'm going to be here for most of the next 14 days other than when I'm out at Olympic venues. But, I'm in the centre of Tokyo, I'm just near Shiba Park and the famous Tokyo Tower. It's really hot. It's sweltering hot outside and it's going to stay that way for most of the games. But after the turmoil of recent weeks and months and the past year and a half, I'm just delighted to be here.

BETH:

So you've made it to Japan, the games, at least at this stage, are going ahead. Tell me about your trip. What was the journey like?

KIERAN:

It really felt like a journey into the unknown. So I left Canberra, headed to Sydney, and at that point I still hadn't had my activity plan approved by the Japanese government that I needed to be able to board that flight. And yet I was heading from the safety of Canberra into Sydney and lockdown. Wasn't sure if I'd be able to return. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get on that flight. But only a mere few hours before my flight to Tokyo, the approval came through.

Archival Tape -- [Airport ambience]

KIERAN:

There was so much stress when I was at Sydney Airport on Tuesday night with this bundle of paperwork, people behind me in the line didn't have the right form and suddenly looked as if their whole trip might be off. Thankfully, that person did manage to get in. I had all the right paperwork. I was able to board the flight.

Archival Tape -- Air Steward on loud speaker

“Now we would like to begin boarding through to….”

KIERAN:

I was joined on that flight by some Australian surfers, some New Zealand triathletes, some Olympians from the Cook Islands and a bunch of other media and Olympic staff. And we left Australia and there was this weird collective apprehension.

Archival Tape -- [Airplane taking off]

KIERAN:

This journey into this crazy experiment. But we made it. We landed and saw this sort of beautiful sunrise over Mount Fuji as we descended into Tokyo.

Archival Tape -- Air Steward on loud speaker

“Thank you for waiting there. Passengers involved in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, please disembark through the rear doors…”

KIERAN:

And then we spent a number of hours walking around an airport maze of checkpoints, Covid tests, questions and answers.

Archival Tape -- Kieran Pender at the airport, recording

“And so I’ve made it through about ten lines of bureaucracy, and had to hand over paperwork time and again. And I've just given my Covid test just sitting and waiting with all the other members of the Olympic delegation waiting to be told we can go on our way into Japan”

KIERAN:

Ultimately they'll let us in. So I'm here and this is really happening.

BETH:

Okay so, sounds like quite an ordeal. Can you talk us through how we got to this point, where we have the Olympics going ahead in the middle of a pandemic?

Archival Tape -- Newsreader

“Tokyo 2020 organisers and the International Olympic Committee bowing to global pressure, pressure brought on by the novel coronavirus catastrophe...”

KIERAN:

So they postponed the games for a year until July of 2021 And ever since, there's been this concern about whether they'd be ready in time, where the pandemic would be by that stage where the people would be vaccinated. So for the past 16 months, we've just been counting down for these days in July.

Archival Tape -- Newsreader

“Covid case numbers have jumped to the highest levels in four months as Tokyo stages events preparing for the Olympics in just nine weeks”

KIERAN:

But there's just been so much stress and uncertainty.

Archival Tape -- Newsreader

“The games are increasingly unwelcome in Japan. Thousands signed an online petition to cancel the games...”

KIERAN:

But it's all it's all happening as of Friday, the games I go,

Archival Tape -- Newsreader

“And up against almost every obstacle known to mankind, the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games are here and we couldn’t be more excited”

BETH:

Okay, so what's the plan here? They're bringing in tens of thousands of athletes, officials and media, many from countries where COVID is really spreading quite rapidly. How are they planning on keeping both athletes and the wider Japanese community safe?

KIERAN:

Hope and pray, I think. There's certainly quite extensive countermeasures against Covid. There's, you know, a 100 page playbook of how we're supposed to behave while we're here to manage the Covid risk. There's all these rules and regulations. So everyone arriving into Japan had to get two negative tests in the 96 hours before they left. They were tested on arrival. For me, I'm being tested on day one, two and three of my stay. And then subsequently, every four days. For the athletes, it's every single day they'll be tested. So there's an extensive testing regime. But the paradox is that it's actually more extensive than the local population here. So there were almost 2000 COVID cases reported in Tokyo on Wednesday out of a total government-run testing programme of only about eight or 9000 tests. Now, compare that to Sydney or Melbourne right now. And that is, you know, woefully low testing. So there's this paradox that, of course, the risk is coming in from other countries. There's already been a number of athletes and Olympic staff who've come in and tested positive upon arrival. But there's also a massive domestic risk in Tokyo. So everyone - athletes, coaches, staff, journalists - are praying that their phone contact tracing app doesn't ping to say you've been in close contact because your whole games would be put into disarray. So among the athletes I've spoken to, their approach is really to stay in their room. The Australian Olympic Committee is doing all they can to facilitate that. They're providing meal service, packaged meals so that athletes don't have to go to the communal dining hall. The AOC has even brought in their own barista, a Melbourne born, as I understand, Japanese-based barrister, to provide coffee to the team so they don't have to leave the confines of the Team Australia part of the village. So extensive measures but Covid is spreading. There have been a number of positive cases. There are a number of athletes already isolating and with a bit over two weeks of games ahead, I expect that to increase.

BETH:

Ok, So Kieran they’ve put all these measures in place, athletes are staying confined to their rooms… How is it all playing out?

KIERAN:

The opening ceremony begins tonight, and there's a lot of trepidation amongst athletes, staff and journalists about how the next two weeks are going to play out.

Archival Tape -- Newsreader

“The future of the Olympics is now in question after the CEO announced he’s not ruling out cancelling the summer games at the last minute so far 79 COVID cases have been related to the Olympics”

KIERAN:

And there's also a lot of concern amongst Japanese locals and there's a real absence of atmosphere. There's no signage around… On my designated 15 minute walk to the local supermarket, you know, it's as if there's no major international sporting tournament going on. And partly, that's very understandable given the wider context, given the pandemic, given the Japanese resistance, but it's really stark. And I've covered major sporting events all around the world. And there is a certain atmosphere and electricity that normally comes with those. And suddenly we just have silence. So we'll have to wait and see. Will this big crazy experiment, the first ever Covid games, go off without a hitch?

BETH:

We’ll be back after this

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BETH:

Kieran, the Olympics aren’t really what athletes envisaged when they started training years and years ago. How are the athletes handling these conditions?

KIERAN:

I think for athletes having the go, getting their game to the start line, not getting COVID along the way will be a big deal. For a lot of athletes, the last year and a half has been really trying. A lot of people have been in lockdown, they haven't been able to train and haven’t been able to compete as usual. So getting to these games is really momentous for them. The athletes I spoke to are excited. They've trained all their life to compete at the Olympics. For some, this will be the only Olympics they can make. For others, it'll be their debut. For others, it'll be their final Olympics. So they'll want to be there. But really, there are two-fold integrity concerns. So one, there are people who haven't made it due to Covid. A number of athletes have pulled out entirely.

Archival Tape -- Newsreader

“We have been advised that Alex Timoner has had a positive test. He said that he's shattered, not being able to come. It’s been a dream since he was a child to represent Australia at the Olympic Games”

KIERAN:

We saw the Australian basketballer Liz Cambage withdraw, over mental health concerns in relation to being stuck in the bubble.

Archival Tape -- Newsreader

“It wasn't a new case that prompted Liz Cambage's withdrawal, the star said she was terrified of heading into the Olympic bubble. In a statement saying, ‘The past month I've been having panic attacks, not sleeping, not eating’.”

KIERAN:

We’ll no doubt see athletes withdrawn as a result of close contact or positive tests in the weeks ahead. And that will have an impact on whether the medal tally, whether the results in different disciplines match up with sporting reality, the possibility that someone could be scratched before their final because they are in close contact or they’ve tested positive raises pretty challenging dilemmas, I think, for all sporting bodies.

BETH:

And can you tell me, what's it like watching all of this play out from your front row seat. Do you think it's all worth it?

KIERAN:

I wrote a column recently where I described this paradox, this shouldn't be the way it is, it is deeply problematic. The IOC has forged on with these Covid games. It's very reasonable to look at the state of the world, even for Australians to look at the situation right now in Sydney and Melbourne and Adelaide and say, who cares? It's just sport. There are far more important things. But sport is powerful, sport is important for the athletes that are really committed and dedicated to this. I know a lot of people in the next two weeks, these games will bring joy, particularly those in lockdown in Australia. People being able to watch these games will bring joy. And so I think we can accept that and we can appreciate that for what it is, but still hold concerns about the broader context and still be worried about what that means for the future of sport. That is a paradox and I'm not really sure how to resolve that. Um, but can we not have it both ways? Criticise the IOC and still appreciate that the next two weeks are going to be fun.

BETH:

And speaking of that fun, with more than half of Australia currently stuck at home in lockdown, I’m sure plenty of people will be sitting down to watch the games - I know I will. Do you have any recommendations of who should be keeping an eye on?

KIERAN:

Yeah, swimming. We are going to do well in the pool. And it's really a battle of Australia versus the US in a number of disciplines, but particularly in the women's freestyle Ariarne Titmus, young Tasmanian versus Katie Ledecky, the queen of the pool from the US. There's been a war of words between them recently. We're seeing a real clash for the ages in the 400, but also in the 200 and 800 metre freestyle.

A new Olympic discipline, the BMX freestyle. Logan Martin, an Australian from the Gold Coast is the gold medal favourite there. That'll be really exciting. Riders have 60 seconds to ride around a skate park on the next bike and pull tricks. It's really amazing to watch. And in athletics, we have two of the best women's high jumpers in the world, and particularly Nicola McDermitt, an amazing young woman from the central coast of New South Wales will be jumping for gold. Those are a few must watches. But really across the whole two weeks, there's a lot of great Australian action. So I'd encourage everyone to tune in.

BETH:

Amazing. That's some great hype. I'm very excited.

KIERAN:

I'm hyped...

BETH:

Kieran, thanks so much for your time today and good luck covering the games.

KIERAN:

Thanks.

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BETH:

Also in the news today, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has apologised for the slow rate of Australia’s vaccine rollout. After coming under increasing pressure in recent days to say sorry, Morrison yesterday said “Sorry that we haven’t been able to achieve the marks that we hoped for at the beginning of this year”.

And, in NSW health authorities recorded 124 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, a record high figure for this outbreak. Victoria recorded 26 new local Covid-19 cases yesterday, the highest figure the state has seen this year

7am is a daily show from The Monthly and The Saturday Paper. It’s produced by Elle Marsh, Anu Hasbold, Michelle Macklem, Cinnamon Nippard, Kara Jensen-Mackinnon and Alex Gow.

Our senior producer is Ruby Schwartz and our technical producer is Atticus Bastow.

Brian Compeau mixes the show. Our editor is Osman Faruqi. Erik Jensen is our editor-in-chief.

Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan of Envelope Audio.

New episodes of 7am are released every weekday morning. Follow us in your favourite podcast app, to make sure you don’t miss out.

Tomorrow in the 7am feed, we’ll be releasing a new episode of Schwartz Media’s arts and culture podcast, The Culture, looking at the campaign to free Britney Spears.

I'm Beth Atkinson-Quinton, this is 7am, I'll see you next week.

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