The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were postponed this summer with the rapid spread of Covid around the world, are slated to begin in July of 2021. How has the postponement hurt or helped Japan? What about the athletes and training and qualifying?

Hosting the Olympics is a massive financial drain on cities and countries, sending some into a downward spiral of debt and abandoned facilities. Greece and Brazil are prime examples of this. Countries are forced to spend millions – if not billions – building state-of-the-art arenas and venues, and upgrading infrastructures. Japan is the third largest economy in the world, but is not immune to financial losses due to Covid. The cost of hosting the Olympics in Tokyo has been estimated at $28 billion dollars and loss due to the postponement at more than $2 billion.

What about the athletes?

The Olympic athletes train with a certain schedule in mind, namely that they peak just at the right time for optimal competitiveness. Many Olympic athletes have a limited window to compete, whether age or financial constraints come into play. Four years between each Olympics is already an eternity, but one that is factored into everything the Olympic athletes do. Training schedules have now had to calculate in the extra year. Being another year older will have an impact on many athletes, someone like Ryan Lochte or Keri Walsh Jennings. And with facilities across the globe dealing with Covid, how and where athletes can prepare must also be a consideration, especially for any team events.

Then there’s the unknown of what the world will be like in 2021. Will we be post-Covid or will there be difficulties in distributing vaccines, meaning the virus is still a major concern? There’s no real data, yet, on how long the vaccine’s protection will even last. There’s no real data on what any side effects might be.

The Olympics will move forward as planned for now. Tokyo will proceed as if the Olympics are happening in July next year. There’s no real alternative. And many athletes, even the older ones, have looked at this delay as a time to get even better. But I’m sure there’s heartache for some who won’t be able to afford training for another year or whose bodies won’t let them get back to Olympic form. In the end, though, I guess that’s what the Olympics have always been about: glory for some, agony for others.

I hope we all get to watch the magic of the games next year. The world needs a strong dose of magic.

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