It will be half a year in 23 days until the opening of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
South Sudanese athletes who are holding a long-term training camp in Maebashi, the host town, are practicing while taking measures against the new coronavirus.
In South Sudan, Africa, sports facilities have not been developed due to the effects of the civil war, so Maebashi City, the host town, is accepting a long-term training camp for five people, including track and field athletes and coaches.
Initially, it was scheduled until last summer when the Tokyo tournament was held, but the city decided to extend the training camp for one year after the postponement was decided.
Along with that, we are soliciting additional stay expenses of about 10 million yen for the players through hometown tax payment.
South Sudanese players have celebrated their second winter in Maebashi.
Since there are no competitions during this time, we practice on the grounds in the city five days a week.
While the strong and dry "Karakaze" from Mt. Akagi blows down on the ground, we are conducting basic training under the guidance of a Japanese coach.
On the other hand, the infection of the new corona is spreading in Maebashi City, and the number of infected people so far has reached about 500.
Although it is not customary to wear masks in South Sudan, athletes wear them when they are not practicing and continue to go back and forth between the dormitory and the ground.
Coach Omiroku Joseph said, "The new coronavirus has spread all over the world and is now commonplace, but I hope it will converge and the Tokyo Games will be held in a few months." ..
Meanwhile, 100-meter female Morris Lucia said, "I went to the gym, trained a lot, and I'm in better shape than last year. I want to run hard at the Olympics and win medals if possible."
"I don't care if the Olympics will be held. All I have to do now is just keep practicing," said Akoon Joseph, a men's 400-meter hurdle.
Host Town Bewildered by the spread of infection worldwide
Voices of confusion are spreading about the spread of the infection worldwide in the "host towns" of each region that are planning to interact with overseas teams.
The "host town" of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics is registered by 513 local governments, which is about 30% of the local governments nationwide, and in the Kanto region, there are * 124 local governments.
In the host town, various events are planned, such as accepting athletes from each country and interacting with residents, and the government will subsidize half of the cost, and the government will bear additional costs for infection control such as athlete inspection. Is shown.
On the other hand, the national guidelines presented last year impose strict restrictions such as using online for exchanges between athletes and residents, and recommending direct exchanges after the tournament, and each local government is required to interact with the partner country. After individual discussions, we are requesting that infection countermeasures be implemented around March.
On the other hand, while there are voices from local governments who continue to work positively, such as "I want to make international exchange a legacy of the tournament" and "I want to make it happen because I prepared it over several years" There are widespread confusions such as "It is unclear whether people will come to Japan" or "The number of infected people is increasing even at the feet, and it is not the host town."
At the host town meeting held online on the 17th of this month, Kami Town in Miyagi Prefecture, which is scheduled to accept the Chilean team from South America, told the Minister in charge of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Hashimoto, "What kind of form does not have a close exchange? Should we proceed with the exchange? We must consider the exchange when the corona has converged to some extent, and I would like to ask for advice. "
* Number of local governments (including prefectures) Tokyo 29 Saitama 22 Chiba 21 Ibaraki 17 Kanagawa 15 Gunma 11 Tochigi 9