The lingering affect of COVID at the Olympics

As if any story could be bigger than the biggest situation to afflict the entire planet in decades. In Japan, COVID-19 cases are higher than they’ve been in six months, and athletes have been affected. On the American end, tennis player Coco Gauff announced Sunday she tested positive and would not be able to compete. In women’s gymnastics, an alternate on the team has tested positive and another has been put into contact-tracing protocols. A worker in the Olympic Village has also tested positive. 

This situation may get worse, and there’s no telling who could have their eligibility compromised. There are huge public health questions, scrutiny over vaccinations, potential forfeitures of competition by athletes. We already know of one high-profile athlete — American swimmer Michael Andrew — who is not vaccinated and is therefore increasing his risk of disqualification. The same goes for American track athlete Cole Hocker.

With no fans in attendance, the 2021 Games are being put on purely as a TV show (which is mostly what the Olympics has evolved into over the past 20 years). The coronavirus pandemic will hover over every element, every day, and nearly every moment of the Games due to the state-of-emergency circumstances in Japan. You won’t see fans in the stands, and it’s all too easy, unfortunately, to envision a scenario in which athletes wind up being disqualified due to positive tests. Even the medal ceremonies will be different this time around: instead of the tradition of a medalist bending down to be wreathed with their prize, the gold, silver and bronze winners will be grabbing their medals themselves and putting them on. 

While American sports have successfully pulled off major events — the NBA Finals in a bubble, the Super Bowl in the thick of winter, and multi-week men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments in controlled environments — the Olympics dwarfs all of those events. Considering Japan’s vaccination rate, and its state-of-emergency declaration, the number of people working and competing in the Games and the contagiousness of the Delta variant, these Olympic Games represent the biggest sporting event the planet has taken on amid COVID-19. 

A majority of Japanese citizens do not even want the Games to go on, but with billions of dollars at stake, Olympics officials have decided the show will go on.