Irish Examiner view: Olympics on hold

Olympic rings in front of the New National Stadium  in Tokyo. Picture: Eugene Hoshiko

In the summer we imagined for ourselves pre-Covid-19, we would now be gearing up to binge-watch Tokyo 2020, which was due to begin on Friday, July 24.

Today would have been a particularly exciting day as the Irish women’s hockey team were scheduled to take on South Africa. 

That incredible squad brightened up the summer of 2018 when they defied all expectations by reaching a World Cup final.

For now, though, all expectations are on hold as athletes around the world wonder what lies ahead. At least the Irish hockey team knows that they have qualified for the postponed Olympic Games, unlike many others who are waiting to be told when, or if, qualifiers will take place.

The postponement is a blow for athletes and fans, but also a devastating setback for Japan which faces the unwieldy nightmare of getting the world’s largest sporting event back up and running next year. 

For branding and marketing reasons, it will still be called Tokyo 2020.

Groundhog day is not ending any time soon.