Athens (AFP)

Greece transmitted the Olympic flame to the organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Thursday in a panathenaic stadium in Athens empty due to the coronavirus pandemic, AFP noted.

In the absence of spectators, only a handful of journalists were allowed to cover the traditional ceremony in the majestic stadium where the first Games were held in 1896.

Olympic gymnastics champion Lefteris Petrounias ran with the flame through the marble stadium where his compatriot Katerina Stefanidi, Olympic pole vault champion, lit a cauldron, according to tradition.

The flame was then solemnly transmitted to the representative of Tokyo 2020 Naoko Imoto, swimmer at the Atlanta Games in 1996 and representative of Unicef. Japanese organizers would have called her at the last minute because she lives in Greece.

New Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said in a statement that the Olympic values ​​of "understanding, kindness and brotherhood ... are the weapons to use" against the pandemic.

Last Friday, the torch relay, lit without spectators the day before on the ancient site of Olympia, was interrupted in the middle of the race because of the risks of spread of the coronavirus, which made a sixth death on Thursday - a septuagenarian - and 418 cases in Greece, according to the Greek agency ANA.

The global coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 200,000 people worldwide and killed more than 8,000 has caused in recent days a cascade of suspension or cancellation of major sporting events and raised questions about the advisability of maintain the Games.

Former ice hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser, a member of the International Olympic Committee, lambasted Wednesday the "insensitive and irresponsible" position of her body, which refuses to postpone the scheduled Tokyo Olympics this summer (July 24-August 9).

The IOC said on Tuesday that there was "no need to take radical decisions" four months from the Olympic Games. He said he was "confident" that "the numerous measures taken by authorities around the world will help to contain the situation regarding Covid-19".

© 2020 AFP