At the Tokyo Games, athletes could be sanctioned

It was time. Five weeks and a few hours before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Games, the athletes now know a little more about what their stay in Japan will look like for the Olympic meeting. Of course, not all questions have their answers yet. And the vagueness will undoubtedly last until the last moment. But the third – and final – version of the practical guide (playbook) for use by participants, published this week by the IOC and the organizing committee, lifts a new corner of the veil.

Main new feature: sanctions. Christophe Dubi, the director of the Olympic Games at the IOC, confirmed it by videoconference from Tokyo, where he arrived at the beginning of the week: infractions of the rules (the Olympic body prefers to speak of “ noncompliance") will be subject to sanctions. They will be dealt with by an IOC disciplinary commission. They appear to be severe.

The catalog is complete, from warning, temporary or permanent exclusion from the Games, withdrawal of accreditation, disqualification, to possible financial sanctions. Athletes must walk straight.

Christophe Dubi explained it: “ The disciplinary commission can take a number of measures. We are not going to speculate on this or that case, imagining the sanction that could be applied, but that will be its role. Let's just hope she gets very little work. »

Another chapter of the new version of the practical guide, also highly anticipated: COVID-19 screening tests. Nothing very new, the first two versions having largely cleared the ground. But the process is now more precise.

Athletes and officials will be subject to a daily screening test, carried out using saliva. In the event of a positive result, a second test will be carried out using the same sample. Results should be confirmed within 12 hours.

If the result is still positive, or deemed inconclusive, a nasal PCR test will be carried out, with the result known between three and five hours after the check.

Hidemasa Nakamura, the operations director, explained: “ If we encounter positive cases, we will ask infected people to undergo re-testing, but in a quarantine clinic specially set up for the Olympics. » A quarantine zone will be set up within the village itself.

For other accredited people, including officials and the media, screening will be less regular. After the first three days, where it will be daily, the frequency of the tests will be one every four or seven days, depending on the function within the Games, and even more the level of contact with the athletes.

Finally, last announcement for these increasingly unprecedented Tokyo Games: a competitor forced to give up competing in a final, for the gold or bronze medal, due to a positive COVID test before the match, will not lose not all. Kit McConnell, the IOC sports director, clarified: “ Il will receive the minimum reward he could have obtained. In the event of a two-person final, il would receive the silver medal »

But, importantly, the test would be maintained, the freed place being allocated to “highest placed eligible athlete.” In such a scenario, the IOC would be required to distribute more medals than planned, with the beaten finalist sharing the silver medal with the athlete having been forced to withdraw for health reasons.

Such an approach could concern certain racket sports, including tennis, badminton and table tennis, the finals of which are scheduled at the earliest the day after the semi-finals. It could also apply to team sports. “ Depending on the level of the competition, a replacement team could take the vacant place, for example for a quarter or semi-final", suggests Kit McConnell.

No question, on the other hand, of imagining such an option in judo or fencing, two sports where the competition takes place on a single day for each weight category or weapon.