Olympics postponed or "gold medal first" to "above gold medal"
On March 24, 2020, the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee announced that due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the Tokyo Olympics originally scheduled to be held from July 24 to August 9 were postponed to 2021.
In the history of the modern Olympic Games for more than 100 years, only the war has affected the normal holding of the Olympic Games. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics became the first Olympic Games that could not be held for non-war reasons. Human anti-epidemic is undoubtedly a special "global war." .
Time back to August 22, 2016, "Tokyo 8 Minutes" made a stunning appearance at the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games. A dreamy and futuristic Japan can't help but amazed the global audience, and people are full of boundlessness about the Tokyo Olympic Games 4 years later. Daydream. At that time, no one could think of it. Today, 4 years later, when the torch of the Tokyo Olympics has been collected in Athens, and when the preparation of the entire event has entered the sprint stage near the opening, the Olympics has encountered major changes that have never been encountered in history— —The new crown pneumonia epidemic has spread globally, and the number of confirmed patients is rising rapidly every day. This spring is clouding the haze.
As the core event of the international sporting event system, the Olympic Games will be triggered throughout the whole body, but in the face of a menacing epidemic, it is unfortunate that the Tokyo Olympics "delayed" rather than "canceled".
Delay, the toughest decision in Olympic history
Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia, the whereabouts of the Tokyo Olympics has always been one of the focuses of the international community. Senior International Olympic Committee official Dick Pound publicly expressed on February 25 that the Tokyo Olympics may be cancelled, and the media quickly followed up reports. Subsequently, the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee quickly denied the possibility of the Tokyo Olympics being cancelled. Until March 14, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also stated that the Japanese government will overcome the new crown pneumonia epidemic and host the Tokyo Olympics as scheduled.
However, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has been spreading globally since late February, and various international sports events have been cancelled or postponed. Some athletes and sports organizations have begun calling for the Tokyo Olympic Games to be postponed. However, for the International Olympic Committee, decisions to cancel or postpone the Olympic Games need to be done with care.
Olympic expert Ren Hai, a professor at Beijing University of Physical Education, recently said in an exclusive interview with the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily: "The Olympic Games are the highest level of large-scale comprehensive events in contemporary times, as well as the most influential cultural events. The Olympic Games are known as contemporary sports events. "Crown", most of the arrangements for other events are based on the Olympics. Because of its importance, the Olympic Games need to determine the date of the event, so that other sports organizations can arrange their own events accordingly, let athletes adjust the state of competition, and sponsors Implement your own marketing plan in an orderly manner, so that the host can build an Olympic platform in order to allow sports fans all over the world to arrange time or visit the stadium or watch TV at home. In a word, the exact schedule of the Olympic Games can make all related activities consistent with The rhythm of the Olympic cycle. "
In the history of the modern Olympic Games, only the war has affected the hosting of the Olympic Games. If the Olympic Games cannot be held on schedule, it will inevitably have a huge impact on the activities of the entire international sports arena, economic and cultural fields. Ren Hai said that the International Olympic Committee is very aware of the consequences of the postponement of the Olympic Games. However, the new crown pneumonia epidemic is a powerful enemy that has never been encountered since the birth of the modern Olympic movement-it threatens the lives of athletes and spectators. Safeguarding life is the bottom line of the Olympic humanistic spirit. Therefore, the International Olympic Committee had to retreat.
Ren Hai said that the losses caused by the postponement of the Olympic Games include: 1. Hosts suffered significant economic losses-Xinhua quoted the estimate of Honorary Professor Katsuhiro Miyamoto of Kansai University in Japan that the postponement of the Olympics would cost Japan ’s economy 604.8 billion yen (about 41 billion yuan); Second, the desire of cities to bid for the Olympic Games has further reduced-On July 11, 2017, the International Olympic Committee voted in Lausanne, Switzerland, to produce the host cities of the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympic Games, respectively Paris and Paris. Los Angeles. The IOC decides the host city of the two Summer Olympics at the same time in a plenary meeting, and announces the host city of the 2028 Olympic Games 11 years in advance, because the enthusiasm of cities to bid for the Olympic Games is getting lower and lower, the IOC needs to keep Two bidding cities: Paris and Los Angeles; 3. The shaken of sponsor confidence has led to the depletion of resources for the entire Olympic movement; 4. The international sports event system has lost its set star, resulting in the chaos of the international sports order; 5. The international Olympic movement has lost its support. A development crisis has emerged; 6. People have lost confidence in the prospects for globalization. As an international sports event, the Olympic Games is the epitome of globalization, but the globalization of human society has created convenient conditions for the spread of the epidemic. In order to stop the epidemic from spreading, human beings are curbing the process of globalization, and the Olympic Games are inevitably affected.
Although Japan has repeatedly promised that it has the ability to ensure the safe and smooth holding of the Tokyo Olympics, confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia in the international sports arena after March indicate that sports events are crowded places and strict security precautions are difficult to guarantee. The health of all participants. Therefore, the European multinational football leagues and the American NBA leagues have spread to a large extent, and athletes are heartbroken. On March 11, the European Badminton Open was still held in Birmingham, England as the European epidemic had worsened, which triggered protests from athletes in some countries that the World Badminton Federation did not put athletes' safety first. . Before the Tokyo Olympic Games officially announced its extension on March 24, several sports organizations such as the American Athletics Association, the American Swimming Association, the Canadian Olympic Committee, and the Australian Olympic Committee have called for the Tokyo Olympic Games to be postponed. Some world-renowned athletes, such as the defending Olympic champion and Spanish player Marin, have publicly stated that if the Tokyo Olympics are still held as planned, she will give up the current Olympics.
In addition, countries are adopting increasingly stringent immigration control measures to prevent and control the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and the Olympic Games involves more than 10,000 athletes and tens of thousands of national officials, media personnel and 100,000 tourists, regardless of these people. Going to Japan or returning from Japan to their respective countries or regions means tremendous pressure on prevention and control. Therefore, even in Japan, the public is psychologically prepared for the Tokyo Olympics not to be held normally. The results of a poll released by Kyodo News Agency on March 16 showed that 69.9% of the respondents at that time believed that the Tokyo Olympics could not be held as scheduled.
Beyond the Olympics, it is difficult to "position" the international sports vane
On March 24th, the "boots" of the "Tokyo Olympic Games delayed to 2021" landed. On March 25th, the Olympic countdown timer on the streets of Tokyo will no longer display the countdown and will instead display the date and time of the day.
The uncertain future disrupts the normal working rhythm, and the embarrassing situation of the countdown timer is the epitome of the international sports calendar under the epidemic. According to the original schedule of the global sports events, the even years of hosting the Olympic Games and the World Cup are regarded as sports majors, and the individual world championships are taking turns in the odd years. The epidemic broke out, making news including football European Cup, America's Cup and other competitions postponed or canceled. Newspapers should have been “exploded” in 2021, which was supposed to be a sporting year. New Year of Super Sports.
Behind the "Super" is a suddenly congested circuit. The International Olympic Committee President Bach said that the global schedule of at least 33 Olympic events needs to be adjusted. Among them, the two major world championships of swimming and track and field that were originally scheduled to be held in 2021, took the lead in deciding to "give way."
In the face of the epidemic, there is no choice but to "make way". Athletics is the most important basic event in the Olympic Games, but the IAAF is the first International Sports Federation to urge the International Olympic Committee to postpone the Tokyo Olympics. Therefore, after the Olympic Games was postponed, IAAF President Sebastian · Ke immediately responded positively: "We are committed to rearranging the global calendar for 2021 and 2022. Since February this year, we have been doing this work and hope to provide athletes with high-quality events worldwide." He also said that the long-term impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic on global sports events will not be limited to the next two years.
The Chinese sports, which have always used the "Olympic Strategy" and "National Games Strategy" as their main development lines, have to re-plan the sequence of events as soon as possible. The first to be affected is the 14th National Games to be held in Xi'an in 2021 and The World University Games in Chengdu.
According to the Xinhua News Agency, Xu Peng, deputy director of the Shaanxi Provincial Sports Bureau, said that the delay of the Tokyo Olympics will definitely have an impact on the National Games. The State Sports General Administration and the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government are analyzing and judging the relevant situation. After the time is approved, it will be announced to the society in time. In addition, Xu Peng also said that all the 14th National Games venues have been resumed. According to the plan, all the venues will be fully completed by June 30 this year, and the trial operation will be completed by December 31 and the test competition will be ready.
During the year, the hardware facilities of all venues and the National Games Village will be fully completed, dozens of key special tasks will be implemented one by one, and preparations for major events will be fully launched. Liu Qingchen, a professor at Shanghai Institute of Sport and a well-known sports event expert, considered these three points as large-scale sports events. An important indicator that has entered the comprehensive preparatory stage. At this time, adjusting the holding time can be regarded as a "systematic adjustment."
Liu Qingchen counted that for the National Games, there were more than 80 key special tasks covering the opening and closing ceremonies, security, medical treatment, reception and other aspects. The scale of the concept of "people" is bound to be more complicated. Taking the National Games of Shaanxi as an example, there is a huge workload behind the unknown timetable. The 14th National Games has a total of 31 major events, 341 minor events, and a total of 19 Large group of 128 small projects.
"The postponement of the Olympic Games is a positive impact on China's competitive sports competition system and the competition plan for the past two years." Liu Qing morning told reporters from the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily.com that if China's competition system is viewed as a pyramid, the top It is the Olympic Games, and the second layer is the National Games, the Asian Games and the Youth Olympic Games. Under the guidance of the "Olympic Glory Plan", the lower layers select talents. "Now the normal rhythm is completely disrupted."
According to the conventions formed after the 1993 Seventh National Games, the National Games are always held one year after the Summer Olympics. “The National Games talents, Olympic talents”. Now, the National Games collided with the Olympics, which not only affected athletes and Preparing for the competition is a major challenge, and it is also an unprecedented challenge for the event organizing committee and sponsors. Under the influence of the postponement of the Olympic Games, there are also a number of large-scale sports events held in China that "encountered on the narrow road" with the National Games. "It has greatly increased the cost of event management and the impact of large-scale comprehensive sports on the lives of ordinary people." He said that water supply, power supply, disease prevention and control, and food safety supervision were all included in the risk management projects run by the tournament. However, due to the delay or suspension of other events, the timing of the event was uncertain. "This is the first time." This time, the postponement of the risk of holding the event has provided a new topic for the management of the event.
In addition to the Shaanxi National Games, the 2021 Chengdu World University Games, known as the "Little Olympics," was also passive. Zhong Bingshu, president of the Capital Institute of Physical Education, told reporters from the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that these two events are important events to stimulate and testify the revitalization of the western region of China. Because they are held in the same year as the Tokyo Olympics, the competition ’s attention and commercial value will drop significantly. "The World Universiade came to China again after a lapse of 10 years, but the sudden appearance of the Olympic Games will inevitably affect the original participation plan of many top young athletes, which has a great impact on the brand value of the World Universiade."
The distribution of resources such as elite players, attention, and sponsors has become a common pain point of the games originally planned to be held in 2021. In Zhong Bingshu's view, the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to 2021 is a special event in the history of the Olympics. When the Olympic curtain restarts, the stage will show the victory of all human beings united to fight against the epidemic, which will make Tokyo more noticeable, global visibility and influence unprecedentedly increased, and organizers and sponsors may have additional benefits . However, the market development prospects of other events may be shrouded in the shadow of the "anti-epidemic Olympics". Zhong Bingshu said that the changes in the events have affected the realization of the rights and interests of sponsors, and their choice of sponsors and subsequent sponsorship behavior will be more cautious .
For competitions where attention and influence have been determined to be impacted, Liu Qingchen suggested that the organizing committee should formulate a response plan early, strengthen the supporting event organization, carry out the marketing of events related to the games, and “replenish the losses within the dyke and the dyke.” In the long run, In order to reduce the risk, it may be appropriately adjusted to zero or may be the direction that large-scale comprehensive sports games can explore in the future. "Some of the projects are scattered and held at other times of the year, leaving some highly-watched projects to be concentrated. The impact of risk on the host city can also reduce the impact of large matches on people's lives. "
In Zhong Bingshu's view, the sports marketing positions abandoned by leading companies may become an opportunity for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and the large-scale competitions that are "diverted" by the Olympic Games can become a platform for more Chinese companies to move to a wider market.
But the background of the 2021 Sports Super Year is still grim. "Can the carnival of the Tokyo Olympics be sustained? Will there be a greater amount of investment in the Beijing Winter Olympics?" Zhong Bingshu believes that after the busy 2021 of sports events, human attention to sports activities may decline, "aesthetic fatigue" Or it will affect the marketing communication of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Hangzhou Asian Games. How to increase attention and communication power is a realistic challenge. "Especially the Beijing Winter Olympics. Should we have a greater world vision and global awareness? This is a question we must rethink after the world has experienced the epidemic and re-entered the Tokyo Olympics."
See you a year later, the luck and misfortune of the Olympics
In an interview with the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily, Lu Zhuanzheng and his team members were isolated at the hotel. The Tokyo Olympics were postponed, which was special for them.
On November 10, 2019, China ’s rugby achieved a historic breakthrough: In the Tokyo Olympics seven-man rugby qualifier Asian qualifying round, the Chinese women ’s rugby team defeated the Hong Kong team of China 3-0 in the final and received tickets for the Tokyo Olympics .
"In the past few months, we have been actively preparing for the war." Lu Zhuan said: "We have been training and racing in New Zealand before, and were originally scheduled to return to China on January 26. However, as the epidemic became severe, we were trapped outside. We have been paying close attention to the development of the epidemic, and especially to the situation of the epidemic in Japan. Over time, we also realized that the Olympics may be postponed. "
Sure enough, the Chinese women's seven-man rugby team had to postpone their debut on the Olympics.
"To be honest, the whole team including me is still relatively calm. On the one hand, we have this mental preparation, because the international epidemic situation is very severe, on the other hand, although it is regrettable to delay the appearance, but for us to come That said, overall it was acceptable. "
The reason why Lu Zhuan said this is because the Chinese women's seven-man rugby team currently has a relatively reasonable composition. The team has only one veteran over 30 years old. The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics just gave the Chinese football team more time to prepare for the game.
"We are new recruits in the Olympic Games, and we can still run in and prepare for another year. From our age structure, there are more young people who need more training and competition to improve their experience, and their skills and tactics also need to be refined. Now all international Individual events have stopped. If the global epidemic is well controlled, and by the end of the year, the game resumes, we can also play games and train our teams for the Olympic Games. "
The girls of the Chinese women's seven-man rugby team are lucky, but not every athlete can experience such luck.
Spanish basketball star Paul Gasol said after learning about the Olympic Games being postponed: "Thanks to the International Olympic Committee for making such a difficult but extremely necessary decision. This is a very difficult time for everyone, in this unprecedented time In the crisis, the sports industry has played an important role from the beginning. We are all key to staying strong and fighting the epidemic. We must unite and we will win the gold medal. "But every Spanish fan knows that the 40-year-old Gasol's goal is to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and then announce his retirement, but now the Spanish star may end his career with regret.
It has nothing to do with money. For many athletes like Gasol, the postponement of the Olympic Games may be the end of a dream. No one can be sure that after one year, his state is still at its peak. During this period, he will not suffer injuries. Perhaps this delayed year means that he will pass the Olympic gold medals and medals.
British sailing star Hannah Mills told Japan's NHK TV station, "I just got the news of the delay and I feel hit by a bullet. The Olympics are all the athletes, and we have given all our time for this summer. There is still one year left, and I I don't know if I can guarantee the best state. "German fencer Marko Harter told Reuters reporters," The extension is a good decision, but for athletes who have endured severe training and are ready, it is equivalent to Subverting previous preparations. "
If there is no epidemic, the Chinese women's seven-man rugby team should be playing in South Africa at this time, but the Olympics have been postponed and preparations for the team have been disrupted.
Lu Zhuan said that the new preparation plan for the Chinese women ’s seven-man rugby team is still being formulated. “It is just a big framework now. After the epidemic is over, we will organize some invitational tournaments or go to the more developed rugby The country is going to train, but there is still too much uncertainty. "
Similarly, the women's volleyball team and women's basketball team that have already obtained Olympic tickets are also the same. One factor that cannot be ignored is that the current uncertainty will have a negative impact on athletes' psychology.
For the veteran who hopes to complete the final fight this year, the crueler fact is probably the impact of the newcomer on himself. For coaches, there is no reason to reject outstanding athletes, and healthy competition is the most desired scenario for all coaches, especially coaches of collective events. But for a veteran who has entered the "Countdown to the Olympics", the Olympic dream should have been realized, but was eventually terminated because of the epidemic. This kind of pain is difficult to heal.
In addition, it is necessary to confirm that there are issues related to the qualification certification brought about by the postponement of the Olympic Games.
Taking gymnasts as an example, the Olympic Games requires female gymnasts to be at least 16 years old to participate. It is still unknown whether athletes who cannot participate due to age restrictions in 2020 will be able to participate in 2021 and whether Olympic qualification events need to be re-run. The football game was originally restricted to players under 23 years old, so whether the players who are exactly 23 years old in 2020 can participate in 2021 also needs the IOC and the Tokyo Olympic Committee to give an answer as soon as possible-IOC President Bach "should The answer of allowing athletes who have already qualified for the Olympic Games to participate in the next Olympic Games finally gave these worried athletes some comfort.
A return to value, a new starting point for the Olympics
As of 10:00 on March 30, the cumulative number of diagnosed new crown pneumonia worldwide was 722,170, including 142,402 in the United States, 97,689 in Italy, 82,541 in China, 62,095 in Germany, 40,723 in France, and 1,9780 in the UK-Rio 2016 Brazil On the gold medal list, the above six countries are in the top ten (the other four countries are Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Australia). The number of countries with severe epidemics and Olympic gold medals coincides so much. From common sense, it is inferred that the "Tokyo Olympics will be held as scheduled". Without any conditions.
When the International Olympic Committee finally gave the answer to the "Extended Olympic Games in 2020", the "click" sound of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee's heart was clear. How many times before it had been reluctant to stop trying to "guarantee the Tokyo Olympics to be held as scheduled". In fact, in the face of the global epidemic, where the World Health Organization cannot determine the end time, the Olympic Games, which was originally scheduled to open in just four months, had no reason to survive.
The International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee are unwilling to determine the biggest obstacles to the delay as soon as possible, first of all the huge economic benefits involved in the modern Olympic Games, and secondly the adjustment of a series of events related to this-back to the original intention of the Olympic Movement , And the first Athens Olympic Games, which was made by the father of the Olympics, Gubaidan in 1896. It is not difficult to find that the 31st Olympic Games, which has spanned more than a century, has become the largest group of social activities for human beings. The Utopia full of romantic idealism in Baidan's mind is getting farther and farther.
"Mr. Coubertin is a great educator. The original intention of the Olympic Games was to introduce culture and education into sports. He believes that human development, improvement and improvement should be achieved through sports. He hopes that the Olympic Games will become a Schools, especially young people, use sports to strengthen their bodies, purify their souls, learn to pursue excellence, and learn to respect each other. "Professor Pei Dongguang, director of the Olympic Research Center of the Capital Institute of Physical Education, said in an interview with the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily. There is a famous saying in Coubertin that the future of human civilization depends neither on economy nor politics, but on the direction of education. So the Olympic Movement is actually a philosophy of life and it is to create a kind of struggle for fun Therefore, athletes participating in the Olympic Games are required to strictly abide by social ethics and rules, set a good example, and impart the principle of fair competition to the society. "
But 40 years ago, the sacred, economically independent Olympics were hardly going bankrupt. After the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics due to political reasons, the International Olympic Committee made a major decision on Olympic reforms in this new Olympic cycle: the previous principle of "non-profit" of the Olympic Games was revised to "not for profit", and the " "Non-commercialization" ended, and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics realized the bidding system, classification and exclusiveness of business partners. The business community generally believes that Samaranch is as important to the modern Olympics as Coubertin, and the Los Angeles Olympics has turned the Olympics back. The watershed of history. This is the progress of the times. The Olympic Games must not be abandoned by the times before they are qualified to attract the attention of the world and convey the Olympic values.
The Tokyo Olympic Games postponed due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, no matter how much loss needs to be filled at the economic level, will not distort the Olympic values.
During the term of the IOC President Rogge (2001-2013), "excellence, friendship, respect" has become the most concise expression of the core values of the contemporary Olympics. Such core values are continuing throughout the Olympics: the 1936 Berlin Olympics, In the men's long jump competition, American athlete Owens failed two test jumps. His competitor, German athlete Luzlang, told him to put a towel on the most suitable take-off point to avoid fouls. In the end, Owens won the championship and Luzlang won the runner-up. The audience in the stands saluted Luzlang with warm applause; in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Hombus Bay Olympic Stadium was renovated in order to protect a special endangered frog, so the project plan was modified at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Used to make frogs ...
"We now emphasize the mutual achievements of the Olympic Games and the host city. While hosting the Olympic Games, the Olympic Games will also benefit the city, so we call the Olympic Games a special 'adult ceremony.'" Pei Dongguang said: "In the face of the epidemic, both the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee are victims. What kind of imprint will be left in the history of humankind by this Olympic Games is very worth looking forward to. I hope this is a grand event in line with the Olympic spirit. "
"Ah, sports, you are a fertile ground for cultivating human beings! Through direct and noble ways, you can strengthen your national physique, correct deformed bodies, and prevent diseases before they happen. You make athletes full of expectations and hope that their offspring will be strong and strong in the arena. Carry on the past and win the championship glory;
"Ah, sports, you are progressing! For human beings to change with each passing day, people must pay attention to the change of body and mind at the same time. You make people develop good habits and require people to be alert to extreme behaviors. You tell people to follow the rules and use human strength without harm Healthy body.
"Ah, sports, you are peace! You establish pleasant connections between peoples, let people communicate in a controlled, organized, and skilled physical contest. You let young people around the world learn to respect themselves and make different peoples Traits become the driving force for noble and fair play! "
There is no doubt that the "Ode to Sports" created by Coubertin in 1912 is still the most outstanding poem that guides the human Olympic movement more than a century later. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the 2008 Beijing has brought the Olympics to an "unparalleled" culmination. In 2020, Tokyo will postpone the Olympic Games because of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. All these volts are in the line of "Song of Sports", and the Olympic Games reborn a year later in the disaster need to bring a new " Olympic awareness. "
"I hope that the Tokyo Olympics will give everyone a new understanding of the Olympic gold medal. The first Olympic Games after the first successful epidemic in human history will show the common destiny of mankind, the common of human health, and the common of human sports." Zhong Bingshu said, "To the Chinese sports industry, the Tokyo Olympics may be the best moment. We want to show the future of the Chinese people and reflect this role that we have come to the center of the world stage. Above. "
Our newspaper, Beijing, March 30th
China Youth Daily • China Youth Daily reporter Guo Jianci Xin Yang Yan Liang Xuan Source: China Youth Daily