Corona Sorrowful Athletics Japan Championships October 3 at 22:26 at the "touchstone" of future sports competitions

With the spread of the new coronavirus infection, sports competitions have been canceled or postponed one after another, and the Japan Championships on land, which was held ahead of the main competitions of the Olympic Games, can be said to be a "touchstone" for future competition management. It was a tournament.

The Japan Championships on land was scheduled to be held in Osaka City in June, which also serves as a representative selection for the Tokyo Olympics.

However, due to the spread of the virus, the postponement was decided, and the venue was changed to Niigata City three months later than originally planned.

While most sports organizations remain cautious about hosting competitions, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, which decided to host the Japan Championships, placed the highest priority on infection control.



Prior to other competitions, we started in July to hold medium- and long-distance competitions where top athletes gather, and have accumulated a track record of infection prevention measures.



In this tournament, we will introduce a new application that manages the health condition of athletes and related parties before the competition while utilizing that know-how, and also introduce a non-contact automatic temperature measurement system at the entrance of the venue, and athletes and related parties We have taken measures to reduce contact between people while maintaining the convenience of.

Although such preparations were limited to residents of Niigata Prefecture, it led to the holding of a tournament with up to 2000 spectators.


Many of the protagonists said "thank you" and "happiness" about the fact that the tournament was held even in difficult circumstances, and I was very motivated to participate in the tournament.

Among them, the young players such as high school students and college students were shining.


With the training environment limited due to the closure of schools and stadiums, many athletes struggled with what they should aim for.


It was impressive that he showed a lively run and throwing with the joy of standing on the stage even if the ranking was low at the tournament competing for "the best in Japan".

JOC = Managing Director Mitsugi Ogata of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, who also serves as the head of the athlete strengthening headquarters of the Japanese Olympic Committee, said, "I think that the male figures of the athletes have turned the inward-looking feelings of the people to the outside. I think that will surely lead to the Olympics and Paralympics. "


He said, "I want to firmly inherit and share the know-how of this tournament."



Up to this point, the Japan Championship has been held for three days without incident, but in order to aim for a safe and secure holding of the Tokyo tournament next year, it is yet to be evaluated whether it will be a model case, and when that happens For the first time, the tournament may be said to be successful.