Aussie softballers the first athletes to arrive for Tokyo Games

Australia’s softball team became the first athletes to land in Japan for the Olympics on Tuesday.

Members of the Australian softball team arrive at Tokyo’s Narita airport. They are the first international athletes to fly in for next month’s Olympic Games. Picture: Getty Images

Love them or hate them – and there’s ample evidence that the people of Japan are not head over heels – the Olympics are under way. The Australian softball team flew into Tokyo on Tuesday morning, the first athletes to ­arrive for the Games.

The opening ceremony might still be more than six weeks away, but the Aussie Spirit have a training camp and a series of warm-up games planned.

After touching down at Narita airport outside Tokyo, they were ushered off for Covid testing and put on a bus for their training base in Ota city, some 100km north of the capital.

“We know it’s going to be a bit of a long trip over; we know we’re going to go through lots and lots of Covid testing,” said outfielder Jade Wall. “But look, we’re all ­prepared for it, and we want to do everything that we can to make sure that we’re safe.”

A large contingent of officials and media were on hand to greet the Australians. Their arrival is a big boost for Games organisers who have been battling persistent public opposition.

Much of Japan, including Tokyo, is under a Covid-19 state of emergency, and polls show up to 80 per cent of Japanese want the Games to be cancelled.

The softballers will be the first to try out the incredibly strict ­protocols imposed on athletes competing at the Games. No ­family members are allowed and just 10 support staff are with them. And the entire delegation will eat, sleep and work out on a single floor of their hotel.

“The only reason why (they) would be leaving the hotel is to go to the ballpark and back,” Softball Australia boss David Pryles told AFP. “They will be having less daily contact with the public than they would in Australia.”

And when the action starts, they will be playing in incredibly quiet – perhaps even silent – stadiums. No foreign fans will be allowed, and even if there are Japanese spectators in the stands, they won’t exactly be going wild.

All spectators will have to show a negative virus test before being allowed into venues, and they could be thrown out if they break rules banning eating, drinking and cheering. High-fives are also out – even if a Japanese athlete wins a gold medal.

According to Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper, spectators will also face temperature and other health checks and will be required to wear masks.

“Security guards will be stationed at venues, and means are planned for violators to be refused entrance, or asked to leave if already inside,” the Yomiuri report says. “At the venues, the measures taken will include a health check at the gate, the constant wearing of masks, and the staggering of the exit flow. During competition, eating and drinking will be prohibited, along with loud cheering and high-fives.”

Tokyo 2020 organising committee vice-president Toshiaki Endo said he would prefer no spectators at all, to ease fears that the Games could become a superspreader event.

“I personally had thought we should quickly decide to hold the Games without spectators to reassure everyone,” he told Reuters. “But, of course, if you think about this from the point of view of the athletes, they want to compete while being cheered on by the spectators. That’s why, if possible, we’d like to allow the spectators in … but depending on the situation, we also need to consider the no-spectators option.”

The Aussie softballers’ first game, against Japan, will be the opening event of the Games on July 21, two days before the opening ceremony.