Tokyo Olympics: Australian athletes will be vaccinated so they’re not ‘dicing with death’

Australian Olympic bosses believe fast-tracked vaccinations for athletes make passage to Tokyo safe and they won’t be walking into a COVID-19 crisis.

Vaccinations for every Australian Olympic athlete mean they are no longer “dicing with death” by going to Tokyo despite expectations there will be athletes carrying the COVID-19 virus at the Games.

More than 2000 Australian Olympians and officials will be vaccinated before the Games after the federal government confirmed they would be fast-tracked amid fears they wouldn’t be allowed into Tokyo otherwise.

Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll said revelations the AOC had planned for a scenario in which 100 athletes would be in the athletes’ village carrying a variant of coronavirus made the jab even more important.

He tried to ease fears Australia’s Olympians were walking into a death trap and could bring the deadly virus home and said athletes could spend as little as five days in Tokyo.

“I don’t think we’re dicing with death at all,” Carroll said on Wednesday morning.

“The purpose of being vaccinated was to take away, as you described, dicing with death. I don’t believe that’s the case at all.

“That’s an analysis based on the numbers of people in the village. Obviously, as more countries get vaccinated that risk goes.

“The Japanese government and the organising committee have already got a lot of protocols in place, managing the people through the village. You can’t arrive until about 4-5 days before your competition, you leave 48 hours after. In fact, we’re working on getting the athletes out within 24 hours.

Some of the Australian track and field team for Tokyo. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

“The vaccination wasn’t just important for the team going to Tokyo, it means when we bring the athletes back and the officials back to Australia we’re also looking after the safety of Australians.”

Chartered flights will bring returning athletes home to Australia after the Olympics in July.

Carroll was emphatic the Games would still go ahead despite COVID-19 continuing to cause snap lockdowns in Japan and locals against the Olympics proceeding.

“We are confident it will go ahead,” he said.

“They (Japan) really want to host the Games, otherwise they just wouldn’t be there. They want to do it for the athletes of the world so they can come and compete, and for the world, it’s an opportunity to connect virtually and celebrate the power of sport. They are the reasons why they’re committed to making it happen, and it will happen.”