Tokyo (AFP)
The first test event of the year for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been postponed for two months due to restrictions put in place in Japan to fight the coronavirus pandemic, organizers confirmed Thursday.
Scheduled from March 4 to 7 in Tokyo, the artistic swimming event, which will also serve as an Olympic qualifying tournament and bring together swimmers from 10 countries, should finally take place from May 1 to 4 at the Tokyo Aquatic Center.
Tokyo 2020 organizers said the decision to postpone it was taken to "ensure the fairest possible conditions for athlete participation" and take into account Japan's travel restrictions.
Organizers said other qualifying events scheduled to take place in Japan, including the Diving World Cup in April and the swimming marathon in May, will go ahead as planned.
The first test event of 2021 is now the wheelchair rugby of the Paralympic Games to be held on April 3-4.
The postponement of the artistic swimming event, which was to be the first to take place with anti-Covid measures, had been announced on Wednesday by several local media, but neither the International Swimming Federation (Fina) nor the committee of Tokyo-2020 organization had made no comments at the time.
Japan's borders are currently closed to almost all foreigners.
The state of emergency is in effect in Tokyo and other parts of the country until at least February 7.
Athletes coming to Japan to prepare for the 2020 Games, postponed due to the coronavirus, had been exempted from the entry ban but the government revoked this privilege earlier this month.
Most of the test events, which serve as dress rehearsals for each sport, had already taken place before the Games were delayed in March 2020. But there are 18 more to be held, including an Olympic marathon test race.
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