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Olympics opening ceremony will ‘proceed as planned’

Olympics opening ceremony will ‘proceed as planned’
3 hr 34 min ago

Olympics Opening Ceremony will “proceed as planned” 

From CNN’s Chie Kobayashi

Tokyo 2020’s Opening Ceremony is “currently proceeding as planned,” according to a press statement from the Tokyo 2020 International Communications Team. 

The statement says an investigation into the Opening Ceremony has been conducted following the dismissal of former show director Kentaro Kobayashi over anti-Semitic comments he made in the past. 

According to the statement, multiple creators have contributed to the Ceremony, and “no single part of the Opening Ceremony was specifically directed solely by KOBAYASHI Kentaro himself.”  

The Tokyo 2020 Opening Ceremony is scheduled for Friday at 8 p.m. local (7 a.m. ET)

Some more background: Tokyo 2020’s Opening Ceremony show director, Kentaro Kobayashi, was dismissed Thursday following past comments that “ridiculed the painful facts of history,” according to Tokyo 2020 organizers.

Local media reports said Kobayashi made anti-Semitic comments in a 1998 comedy act about the Holocaust.

Kobayashi released a statement following his dismissal, saying he apologized “to anyone who may have felt unpleasant” by his former remarks.

“As it was pointed out, there were some inappropriate expressions in the scripts from my past skit,” he said.

“Indeed, as pointed out, in the video software that was released in 1998 to introduce young comedians, a skit script I wrote contained an extremely inappropriate expression.”

“I understand that my foolish choice of words at the time was a mistake, and I regret it,” Kobayashi continues, adding that he was grateful he was able to be involved in the ceremony.

On Monday, Tokyo Olympics opening and closing ceremonies music composer, Keigo Oyamada, decided to resign from his position following criticisms for past interviews that emerged where he described past bullying of classmates. 

3 hr 40 min ago

Defending champions Brazil defeat Germany in rematch of 2016 men’s football final

From CNN’s Aleks Klosok

Richarlison of Brazil, center, scores their side's third goal during the First Round Group D match between Brazil and Germany on July 22.
Richarlison of Brazil, center, scores their side’s third goal during the First Round Group D match between Brazil and Germany on July 22. (Toru Hanai/Getty Images)

Brazil striker Richarlison scored a stunning first-half hat-trick as the defending Olympic champions beat Germany 4-2 in their opening game of the men’s football tournament on Thursday. 

The Group D encounter was a repeat of the gold medal match from Rio five years ago which Brazil won in a dramatic penalty shootout.

The game was played at the International Stadium in Yokohama – the same venue where Brazil beat Germany in the 2002 World Cup final.

Elsewhere on Thursday, hosts Japan got off to a winning start defeating South Africa 1-0.

South Africa had been depleted by Covid-19 infections after two players and a video analyst tested positive for Covid-19 in Tokyo on Sunday.

At least 18 players were subsequently identified as close contacts and were forced to isolate in their respective rooms in the Tokyo Olympic Village.

A squad of 17 South Africa players did, though, pass pre-game Covid-19 protocols allowing for Thursday’s game to take place at the Tokyo Stadium.

There were also several surprises in the men’s tournament with none of Spain, France or Argentina winning their games.

Mexico stunned France 4-1, Australia upset Argentina 2-0 and Spain, the last European men’s team to claim gold in 1992, were held to a goalless draw by Egypt.

4 hr 35 min ago

What you need to know about the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics

From CNN Editorial Research

The 2020 Summer Olympics are finally underway in Tokyo ahead of the official opening ceremony on Friday after the Games were postponed until this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Games are scheduled to run until Aug. 8. The Paralympics are scheduled to take place Aug. 24 to Sept. 5.

Here’s a look at the Games:

  • This is the second time the Olympics has been held in Tokyo, which previously hosted the Games in 1964. The 1972 and 1998 Winter Games were also hosted by Japan, in Sapporo and Nagano, respectively.
  • Invitations to the games were sent to countries, states and territories represented by 206 national Olympic committees and to the Refugee Olympic Team.
  • Tokyo’s new National Stadium was designed by architect Kengo Kuma following high-profile criticism and spiraling costs of the original plans.
  • Kuma sourced more than 70,000 cubic feet of timber from each of the country’s 47 prefectures for the stadium. “We wanted to create something that captures the people’s thoughts on the environment or the Earth at the time,” Kuma told CNN in an interview in June 2019.
  • Athletes competing in the Games will sleep on bed frames made of cardboard and mattresses made of plastic to reduce the event’s carbon footprint, according to organizers.
5 hr 19 min ago

Here’s why the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are happening in 2021

From CNN’s Alyssa Kraus and George Ramsay

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are now underway ahead of the opening ceremony tomorrow. However, several athletes have withdrawn from the Games due to positive Covid-19 tests.

Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto isn’t ruling out a last minute cancellation of the Olympic Games amid rising Covid-19 cases — and this wouldn’t be the first time the Tokyo 2020 Olympics have been altered in the wake of the pandemic.

In March 2020, the International Olympic Committee agreed to postpone the Games until 2021 due to concerns over Covid-19. The event was set to begin July 24, 2020 and end on Aug. 9, 2020.

“The IOC president and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games … must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community,” a statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee read.

With the postponement, officials decided that the Games — which would take place in 2021 — would still be called the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The decision to push back the event was the first of its kind in Olympics history. The Games have never been postponed, although they have been cancelled on three occasions due to World Wars in 1916, 1940 and 1944.

5 hr 45 min ago

“We cried, then we swore, then we cried again,” says Czech athlete who tested positive for Covid-19 

From CNN’s Ivana Kottasova 

Markéta Sluková-Nausch of the Czech Republic prepares to serve in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Tokyo at Shiokaze Park on July 25, 2019, in Tokyo, Japan.
Markéta Sluková-Nausch of the Czech Republic prepares to serve in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Tokyo at Shiokaze Park on July 25, 2019, in Tokyo, Japan. (Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)

Beach volleyball player Markéta Sluková-Nausch, one of the Czech athletes who won’t be able to compete at the Olympic Games in Tokyo because of a positive Covid-19 test, said she felt very disappointed about the way her Olympic dream has ended. 

Sluková-Nausch’s positive test – announced on Thursday – also rules out her playing partner Barbora Hermannová from the Games. 

“I know that many much worse things are happening around the world right now, but truthfully, in our own sporting micro-world, the world we have lived in and are living in now, it is extremely sad for Bára [Barbora Hermannova] and I that our journey to Tokyo, the journey that was meant to be a pinnacle, had to end in this way,” Sluková-Nausch said in a statement provided to CNN by her representative. 

Tokyo was due to be the third Games for Sluková-Nausch and the second for Hermannová.

The pair were scheduled to open the Olympic women’s beach volleyball tournament against Japan on Saturday.

“We cried, then we swore, then we cried again. I am just hoping that no other athletes will follow us, because I think that something like this is a nightmare for any athlete, for any Olympian, who gets this far, this close to the Olympic competition,” Sluková-Nausch said.

Sluková-Nausch said she discovered she traveled on a flight with an individual who tested positive for Covid-19 right after her arrival to Tokyo.

“I was tested roughly eight times in the past 24 hours, some results were positive, some were ambiguous, some were negative, but unfortunately, the final verdict is that I’ve tested positive and that means that we will not be able to play at the tournament,” the 33-year-old added. 

“It hurts terribly and I haven’t processed this whole situation yet and I don’t know how to deal with it all,” the athlete said.

6 hr 51 min ago

Meet the athletes: Raven Saunders

From CNN’s George Ramsay

Raven Saunders competes in the 2020 US Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field on June 24 in Eugene, Oregon.
Raven Saunders competes in the 2020 US Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field on June 24 in Eugene, Oregon. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Since returning from the 2016 Rio Olympics, US shot putter Raven Saunders’ mental health spiraled.

Five years later and she is traveling to her second Olympic Games, wanting to destigmatize mental health.

“The people that I can help, or people that are trying to get better or who are seeking help because of my personal story — it really warms my heart,” says Saunders.

“I always felt like in life, trying to reach people — to help people — is really my purpose.”

Read more about her inspiring journey HERE

5 hr 4 min ago

Fifth member of Czech Olympic team tests positive for Covid-19

From CNN’s Aleks Klosok

Markéta Sluková-Nausch of Czech Republic returns the ball during the Ostrava Beach Open in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on June 4.
Markéta Sluková-Nausch of Czech Republic returns the ball during the Ostrava Beach Open in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on June 4. (Vladimir Prycek/CTK/AP)

Czech women’s beach volleyball player Markéta Sluková-Nausch has tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss the Games, the Czech Olympic Committee said in a statement on Thursday.

Sluková-Nausch becomes the fifth member of the Czech Olympic team to have tested positive for Covid-19 in Tokyo.

The 33-year-old joins table tennis player Pavel Širuček and men’s beach volleyball player Ondřej Perušič in athletes missing out on competing at the Games.

Sluková-Nausch’s coach and husband Simon Nausch tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday.

Following a report by the Czech online news site Seznam Zpravy, the Czech Olympic Committee confirmed that the first member of the Czech delegation in Tokyo to test positive for the virus was one of the team’s doctors, Vlastimil Voracek.

Voracek tested positive after the team’s arrival in Tokyo. His previous test, taken the day before departing for Tokyo, was negative.

The Czech Olympic Committee also announced on Thursday it has launched an investigation into the alleged breaking of Covid-19 rules on a charter flight from Prague to Tokyo at the end of last week.

The result of the investigation will be published within 14 days.

5 hr 52 min ago

Athletes to watch at Tokyo 2020

Simone Biles trains on the beam during a practice session in Tokyo, on July 22, 2021.
Simone Biles trains on the beam during a practice session in Tokyo, on July 22, 2021. Gregory Bull/AP

Thousands of athletes from more than 200 countries will be competing in this year’s Summer Olympics.

From household names to rising stars, these are the 25 athletes to watch closely as the Games progress. 

Read here.

5 hr 51 min ago

Dutch taekwondo star tests positive for Covid-19 in Japan

From CNN’s Aleks Klosok

Reshmie Oogink during the Olympic's Taekwondo - Quarterfinal - Women's +67kg in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Aug. 20, 2016.
Reshmie Oogink during the Olympic’s Taekwondo – Quarterfinal – Women’s +67kg in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Aug. 20, 2016. Issei Kato/Reuters

Dutch taekwondo athlete Reshmie Oogink has tested positive for Covid-19 in Japan and will miss the Games, the Dutch Olympic Committee announced in a statement on Thursday.

Oogink is the second Dutch athlete to be ruled out of competing in Tokyo after skateboarder Candy Jacobs tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday.

“I have no words for it,” Oogink said in the statement.

“I have done everything I can and worked hard to get here, even after my serious knee injuries. And now it stops like this. This is the end of my career.”

The 31-year-old, who was due to compete in the Women’s +67kg category on Tuesday, will now go into mandatory 10-day quarantine, the statement added.

Oogink participated in the Women’s +67kg category at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. She was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

The Dutch Olympic Committee also announced that a staff member of the rowing team has also gone into mandatory 10-day quarantine having tested positive for Covid-19.

“We are doing everything we can to keep the infections at bay. And yet we are confronted with it (Covid-19),” Chef de mission Pieter van den Hoogenband said in the statement.

“I see around me that our athletes continue to focus on why we are here. That is not always easy, but we are here with professional top athletes who always adapt to the circumstances,” van den Hoogenband added.

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/0yxPLLGRlD8/h_69cc94ca479b19a8db0c2231e2d78721