Category: Olympics

Breaking down Tokyo Olympics’ COVID-19 protocols and what happens if an athlete tests positive

Here’s a look at the COVID-19 rules the International Olympics Committee has in place for the Tokyo Games.

Despite the Tokyo Olympics being postponed a year, they’re still being held during the global COVID-19 pandemic and while Tokyo is in a state of emergency.

The International Olympics Committee, to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus and keep athletes and those around them safe, outlined several protocols that people at the Games will be required to follow. However, those regulations and procedures are already being challenged, with several athletes testing positive for COVID-19 at the Games.

Athletes are working with specifically assigned COVID-19 Liaison Officers while at the Olympics, and they had to identify their regular contacts during this time and complete an activity plan, which includes permitted destinations that are considered critical for their participation in the Games. They’re also only allow to leave the Olympic Village or their hotels to go to those destinations.

The 70-page playbook is detailed and a lot to keep track of, so here’s a breakdown of the key points for athletes, including how they’re tested for COVID-19 and what happens if they test positive while at the Olympics.

All information is according to the IOC’s playbook for athletes and officials, and the latest and final version was released in June.

An Irish gymnast proved the myth about the Olympics’ cardboard beds is completely false

Debunked!

Did the makers of the beds for athletes at the Tokyo Olympics really make them so as to discourage competitors from, er, enjoying each other’s company in them?

The answer is a resounding no.

But for the past few days, all the buzz was focused on the beds in Tokyo’s Olympic village and how they were made to keep more than one athlete from laying in them as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

We’re going to dive into this weird myth, which has since been debunked as we head toward Opening Ceremonies and the start of the Games later this week.

A complete breakdown of the mess that is the Team USA men’s basketball roster

Things aren’t good right now.

Oh boy.

It’s already been a not-so-great week for the United States men’s basketball team that’s heading to the Tokyo Olympics soon. They lost to Nigeria to open exhibition play and followed it up with a loss to Australia. They did beat Argentina, though, quieting a lot of critics.

But there are already changes coming to the roster — one, in particular, due to COVID-19 protocols, as you may have seen — and some uncertainty about when certain members will be joining the team. So let’s break it all down, player by player, to show how messy things are at the moment with the Olympics looming.

Liz Cambage is pulling out of the Olympics to take care of her mental health and that’s totally fine

Liz Cambage needs time away and that’s perfectly fine

Liz Cambage is an absolute star of a basketball player and was certainly going to give the Australian Opals a real chance to snag a medal during the Games this summer at the Tokyo Olympics.

She’s one of the best players in the WNBA and one of the best scorers in the league. Whatever team she plays for has a legitimate shot at winning when she steps on the court — whether it’s her Aces in the W or the Opals.

Unfortunately, this summer, they won’t have her on the squad.

Cambage announced she’d be pulling out of the Olympics this summer in a statement via social media.

She cited her mental health as a reason. She said the thought of being in an “Olympic bubble” was terrifying and who could blame her.

“Anyone that knows me knows one of my biggest dreams is winning an Olympic gold medal with the Opals. Every athlete competing in the Olypmic games should be at their mental and physical peak, and at the moment, I’m a long way from where I want and need to be. I’ts no secret that in the past I’ve struggled with my mental health and recently I’ve been worried about heading into a “bubble” Olympics. No family. No friends. No fans. No support system outside of my team. It’s honestly terrifying for me. The past month I have been having panic attacks, not sleeping and not eating.” 

Clearly, the setup of the Olympics is not appealing to her. This announcement comes after the Opals were discussing removing her from the team following an incident in a private squad scrimmage against Nigeria.

Clearly, there’s something off with Cambage. And it seems that she’s taking time away to address it. No one can blame her for that — that’s a good thing.

Think about the situation she’s in. She’s heading into Tokyo where she’d be completely isolated with her team for weeks amid a pandemic in a city currently under a state of emergency. On top of that, there seems to be a surge in cases among athletes at the Games, per Reuters.

Times are scary right now. It’s easy to become anxious in a situation like that. And if Cambage feels it’s best to remove herself from it for her physcial safety and mental health, then so be it.

Will the Games miss her? Absolutely. She’s one of the best personalities there. She’s also an incredible basketball player and would’ve been able to do so much for the sport by being there.

But what this comes down to is her mental health. And if that’s not all squared away, then it’s OK to step away and take care of it.

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Florida’s lone basketball representative at Tokyo Olympics unable to participate

Bradley Beal was set to be a first-time Olympian. He will miss the Olympics as he remains in health and safety protocols.

Former Florida one-and-done star Bradley Beal will miss the Tokyo Olympics as he remains in health and safety protocols. Team USA announced Thursday that they are looking for his replacement.

Their statement reads: “USA Basketball Men’s National Team point guard Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), who was placed under USA Basketball’s health and safety protocols Wednesday, will remain in health and safety protocols and will be unable to participate in the July 23-August 8 Tokyo Olympics Games. A roster replacement will be named at a later time.”

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This news is disappointing for Team USA after a rocky start in their exhibition games before the Olympics. They dropped back-to-back contests to Nigeria and Australia before they bounced back versus Argentina. Beal averaged 10.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game and will not be a first-time Olympian this summer.

He was also coming off his best season in the NBA after he was narrowly beaten out by Golden State’s Stephen Curry for the scoring title. Beal put up 31.3 points per game that earned him a spot on the All-NBA Third Team.

Team USA has two exhibition games left against Australia Friday and Spain Sunday. The Olympic Games start July 25 when the U.S. takes on France.

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Florida’s lone basketball representative at Tokyo Olympics unable to participate

Bradley Beal was set to be a first-time Olympian. He will miss the Olympics as he remains in health and safety protocols.

Former Florida one-and-done star Bradley Beal will miss the Tokyo Olympics as he remains in health and safety protocols. Team USA announced Thursday that they are looking for his replacement.

Their statement reads: “USA Basketball Men’s National Team point guard Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), who was placed under USA Basketball’s health and safety protocols Wednesday, will remain in health and safety protocols and will be unable to participate in the July 23-August 8 Tokyo Olympics Games. A roster replacement will be named at a later time.”

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This news is disappointing for Team USA after a rocky start in their exhibition games before the Olympics. They dropped back-to-back contests to Nigeria and Australia before they bounced back versus Argentina. Beal averaged 10.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game and will not be a first-time Olympian this summer.

He was also coming off his best season in the NBA after he was narrowly beaten out by Golden State’s Stephen Curry for the scoring title. Beal put up 31.3 points per game that earned him a spot on the All-NBA Third Team.

Team USA has two exhibition games left against Australia Friday and Spain Sunday. The Olympic Games start July 25 when the U.S. takes on France.

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How U.S. Olympic swimmer Lilly King became the queen of psyching out her opponents

“I like to know that people are scared to race me,” Lilly King said.

With one finger wag at the 2016 Rio Olympics, swimmer Lilly King became a viral sensation. And by the time the then-19-year-old swimmer left the Games with two gold medals in hand — one for the 100-meter breaststroke and another for the 4×100-meter medley relay — she was one of the sport’s biggest stars.

At the time when King wagged her finger at rival Yulia Efimova — the Russian breaststroker who had previously been penalized for anti-doping violations — she didn’t realize the moment was captured on camera.

But, as she told NBC Sports, it highlighted her “alter ego” in the ready room, which significantly differs from her personality away from the pool, and now, she embraces being the “bad guy in the pool” because she says it’s empowering.

“I always like to say that I like to win the race before it starts,” King recently told For The Win.

“I like to know that I’m in control of the heat. I like to know that people are scared to race me, and knowing that your competitors are feeling all those different emotions before potentially the biggest race of their life makes you feel pretty good about yourself. So definitely, at least for me, makes me feel very sure of what I’m doing. So I think it just gives me confidence and helps me race faster.”

(Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

MORE OLYMPICS: Meet some of the world’s best athletes ahead of the Summer Games

Now 24 years old and headed to her second Olympics, whatever King is doing for herself (and to her opponents) is working.

The Evansville, Indiana native qualified for Tokyo in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke (she finished 12th in the latter in Rio). She’s the reigning world champ in the 100 and the 50-meter breaststroke — the 50 isn’t offered at the Olympics — and won the trials final in the 100 with a time of 1:04.79, which is nearly seven tenths off her own 1:04.13 world record.

King also owns five of the seven fastest times in the world this year in the 100, so she’s a strong favorite to successfully defend her Olympic title.

She also predicted that the American women could win every individual Olympic gold medal.

“What I love about what Lilly said is that is who she is,” said Greg Meehan, Team USA’s women’s swimming head coach.

“That is her personality. She is competitive. She is someone that we want on Team USA. She’s great on relays. And regardless of the context of that, the reality is that competitive spirit is what Team USA is all about, and as we get into international competition, that competitive spirit is what drives us.”

Before King competes, to be in control of her heat, she’s focused on psyching out her opponents, especially if she’s going against Russian rival Efimova. Whether she’s making extra noise, staring down other swimmers, asking them odd questions or pacing back and forth, the goal is to distract her competitors.

“Typically, when I’m racing Yulia, it’s a lot of just kind of staring at her and doing crazy things in the ready room,” King said. “I think staring at people is probably one of my favorite things to do.”

She said her staring freaks other swimmers out a bit and noted that “the showmanship of it all just kind of comes naturally” to her in the ready room or behind the blocks.

King also likes to be the last one to get up on the block before her races begin.

“That’s one of my I feel like kind of like my trademark things at this point,” she said. “I like I like to be in control of the heat, and I like everyone else to know they’re waiting for me. So that’s kind of one of my one of my go-tos.”

However, King said her efforts to psych out her opponents don’t impacter her own performances. When she gets up on the block to start a race, she said she’s “on autopilot” as her body takes over to churn out some of the fastest breaststroke times ever.

“If people are scared to race me, they’re not going to swim as fast,” King said. “I would definitely say [embracing a bad-guy mentality is] more male-dominated than female, but I’ve never really been one to follow the normal path.”

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