Tokyo (AFP)
The first test event of the year ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics may be postponed due to restrictions on Japan's borders, Japanese media reported on Wednesday.
The artistic swimming test event, currently scheduled for March 4-7, is also set to serve as an Olympic qualifying tournament and bring together swimmers from 10 countries.
It would also be the first to benefit from health measures against Covid-19.
But his outfit could be postponed to April or May, according to several local media citing sources familiar with the matter.
Japan, affected by an upsurge in the pandemic, has set up a state of emergency until at least February 7 in Tokyo and 10 other departments, and also prohibits the entry into its territory of non-resident foreigners.
The exemption for athletes to train in Japan for the Olympics scheduled for July was suspended in mid-January.
The International Swimming Federation (Fina) and the Japanese swimming federation have determined that these restrictions would make the organization of the test event too difficult, according to several media.
Neither these federations nor the Tokyo-2020 organizing committee were immediately available to comment on this information.
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