Tokyo Olympics: International Athletes Showing Full Support For Games

Athletes’ commission members from 199 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), all summer and winter Olympic sports federations, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), all Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs) and NOC Continental Associations, as well as representatives from the World Olympians Association (WOA) and members of various National Olympians Associations, attended the 10th International Athletes’ Forum.

Updates on the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 and Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 – were the highlights of the second day, in addition to a dedicated Q&A session with IOC President Thomas Bach.

Jessica Fox (Australia, canoe slalom), said: “These last 12 months have been really challenging for athletes all over the world. We’ve all had to adapt and had our preparations disrupted in some way.

“The important thing has always been detaching myself from the idea of an ideal preparation and really being set on one thing and being able to be fluid and adaptable.

During the sessions on the second day, many athletes shared their excitement about and confidence in Tokyo Olympics. Reflecting on the successful delivery of test events held in the past few months, athletes also expressed their commitment to respecting the measures outlined in the Playbooks in order to deliver a safe Olympic Games for all participants and all Japanese people.

“We’ve had to make the most of the restrictions here and not being able to travel overseas for competitions. But I’m really looking forward to finally getting over there. There’s been great communication from the IOC, and I have full confidence in everyone at the Tokyo Organising Committee to put on safe Olympic Games.”

Heather Daly-Donofrio, International Golf Federation AC Chair, said, “Golf was the first of the major professional sports to come back, and we’ve been holding tournaments around the world — Europe, Asia, Middle East, the Americas — and, albeit a smaller scale than the Olympics, we’ve been able to cross these borders and continents safely and successfully not just for the athletes, but also for the communities and the countries in which we’ve played.

“Everything I’ve read coming out of the IOC and the playbooks and heard today, I’m just super confident that the IOC and Tokyo will deliver the same for the Olympic Games.”

Collectively, through the various panel discussions, Q&A sessions and breakout sessions, the athlete representatives identified the areas that require the most attention in order to empower their athletes’ commission to effectively and actively represent the voice of athletes.

Additionally, the participants highlighted the importance of their role in actively sharing information with their fellow athletes to ensure all athletes have the latest information and a clear understanding of the arrangements in place in Tokyo.

In the lead-up to the two live days of the forum, dedicated breakout sessions were held for athletes’ commissions from each of the five continents to discuss effective athlete representation and empowerment, in addition to breakout sessions focused on anti-doping and the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 recommendations.