Zhang Jin of China competes on the floor on November 8 in Tokyo. Photo: VCG

The biggest casualty of the ­COVID-19­ pandemic on the sporting calendar was undoubtedly the Tokyo Olympics, which were set to take place in Japan's capital in July.

It was March when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo 2020 organizing ­committee decided to postpone the sporting jamboree until 2021 - although they did insist it would still be called Tokyo 2020.

Much has happened since, in what has been a remarkable year for sport and everything else, but now the Tokyo Games are back on the agenda after the city hosted its first major international event since March's historic decision.

November 8 saw the one-day Friendship and Solidarity gymnastics competition, held at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in what was a trial run for what the Olympics might look like.

A total of 30 gymnasts descended on Tokyo from hosts Japan, the United States, Russia and China. Those athletes were divided into two separate cross-country teams - given the team names "Friendship" and "Solidarity" - to compete in front of 2,094 avid fans.  

Among them were Tokyo 2020 organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori and Japan's Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto, while IOC chairman Thomas Bach sent his best wishes for the landmark event.

"You are also setting an example that sport can be organized safely even under ongoing health restrictions," Bach said in a video message.

"You are giving us confidence in our preparation for future events, in particular of course with an eye to the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games."

Unusual fans 

While the format and the circumstances were unusual, in some ways it was back to normal for those on the mats, if not in the crowd.

The fans were perhaps not as avid as they might have been at the venue, which was originally designed by architect Kenzo Tange for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics - the last time that Japan hosted the Summer Games.

Fans were asked not to cheer, with reminders in place, but they could not help themselves when home hero Kohei Uchimura put on a show in his comeback from injury.

Japanese star Uchimura - twice winner of the men's overall at the Olympics - put in the performance of the day, scoring 15,200 in the horizontal bar event.

"We've left things in a positive manner heading into next year's Tokyo Games. It was really fun," Uchimura said, as reported by Japan's Kyodo News. "I hope people do not think the Olympics cannot be held."

Hosting the Games next summer is the aim and they certainly have a blueprint for what that might look like.

Athletes were made to take a COVID-19 test in the 72 hours before leaving for Japan and they were then tested on a daily basis while in Tokyo ahead of the event.

On top of that the athletes all arrived on charter rather than schedule flights and they were separated from other passengers at the airport upon arrival in Tokyo. From there they were kept in a bubble, preventing them from contact with any possible virus infection.

The risk was further diminished by the fact that everyone else involved in the event - from the rest of the traveling parties to the operations staff for the event - were forced to produce negative test results ahead of the showpiece.

False positive 

Even that extra effort was not without its hiccups, as Uchimura almost found to his cost. He recorded a "false positive" for the coronavirus a week ahead of the event and his participation was in question until another test cleared him.

"When I was first told I was positive, I didn't believe it at all," Uchimura said of being told of the result in a press conference the day before the event.

He also pointed out that a "false negative" would have been a much bigger worry as it would not have been investigated.

"I was really sorry that everyone's practice stopped," Uchimura said of the fact that his test also stopped his Japan teammates at the National ­Training Centre. "They told me it was OK, but since it lasted for two days, I felt bad about it."

"I know this event has some special meaning," he said. "For me, it's also a stepping stone to the Olympics. I'm feeling like I've finally come back," Uchimura said ahead of the one-day games, his first international event in two years.

He showed that he has lost none of the talent that has won him three Olympic golds in his career.

"It is our duty to give people dreams and hope by holding sporting events even under the restrictions caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic," Uchimura said after the games.

"I think it's our job as gymnasts to really perform well during competition, and it'll be great if we can do it without any infections or injuries," Uchimura added. "I think this can be a model toward the Olympics."

That was a sentiment shared by other gymnasts, who were also happy to be back in action.

"To continue competitions, to continue the Olympic year, we have to be more safe than you'd ever expect," US gymnast Yul Muldauer told a post-event media conference.

Asuka Teramoto of Japan competes on the balance beam on November 8 in Tokyo. Photo: VCG

 Utmost priority

Muldauer's Team Friendship finished out on the losing side to Uchimura's Team Solidarity, with a score of 423.600 to 421.300.

Everyone was a winner though, a thought that was echoed by the US team ahead of the event.

"The health and safety of our athletes is our utmost priority and we would not be here today if we were not comfortable with the measures that were taken," USA Gymnastics President Li Li Leung said ahead of the event.

Sunday will go some way to fueling the Olympic dreams that have been on pause for the last eight months.

They have many more months to wait out before next summer but provided things do not get much worse then there is no reason that the Tokyo ­Olympics ­cannot take place in some form as planned next summer.

The event on November 8 proves that measures can be put in place and rather than mental ­gymnastics to imagine how it might go ahead, the real thing can continue despite the coronavirus crisis.


Newspaper headline: Friendship & Solidarity