The International Olympic Committee has published Sport-Specific Regulations (SSR) last week for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. It states what happens if the athlete tests COVID-19 positive in the tournament. The IOC has the regulations in place for all sports in detail. It is to determine how any impacts will be managed in competition formats and structures.
“The implementation is subject to the individual circumstances of each situation. And in particular, the timing at which the COVID-19 cases are confirmed relative to the start of the respective competition impacted, as well as the applicable International Federation’s rules and regulations.”
What does it say for different sports?
“As track and field events are held over multiple days, in case of an athlete being unable to compete because of a positive COVID-19 case, in track events the best next-best placed athletes from the previous round will be brought forward to replace that athlete in the next phase,” the regulations said.
“For the field events if an athlete is unable to compete in the final, will be replaced with the next best-placed athlete.”
“The exception is for the 10,000m race which is a direct final and takes place as a single race and therefore the results of the daily COVID-19 test will determine if an athlete can take part, otherwise the event will go ahead with one less athlete. The minimum level of results of the athlete with a positive COVID-19 test will be recognized.”
Covid Liaison Officer
Each contingent has an appointed ‘COVID Liaison Officer’(CLO). CLO’s task is to ensure samples of every individual from that country are collected and submitted on time.
Tokyo Olympics Details
Tokyo Olympics will take place from July 23rd to August 8th. A total of 126 Indian athletes will take part across 18 sports. MC Mary Kom and Manpreet Singh will be the flag bearers for the opening ceremony of the 2021 Tokyo Games. Meanwhile, wrestler Bajrang Punia will be the flag bearer for the closing ceremony on August 8th. The opening ceremony for Tokyo 2020 will start at 8 pm local time i.e. 4:30 pm Indian Standard Time.