Athletes from all over the world continue to arrive in Tokyo, where the long-awaited Summer Games will kick off in a few days.
The Olympic Village opened its doors to foreign delegations, and among the Russians, the equestrian team was the first to settle in.
Rowers, handball players, gymnasts, water polo, classic and beach volleyball teams, swimmers, archers and tennis players followed.
Also in the delegation are representatives of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), who showed in which rooms Russian athletes will have to live in the next two weeks.
The blocks of three rooms have all the amenities, including two bathrooms.
“Everything is clean, light, neat, ready to receive, everything is in its place,” - said the representative of the ROC.
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Publication from the Russian Olympic Committee (@olympic_russia)
In the early days of the Olympic Village, the focus was on the unusual beds in the rooms.
They are made of cardboard and wood and can withstand no more than one person weighing up to 200 kg.
According to the organizers, such a step had to be taken in order to avoid close contacts between the participants of the Games as part of the fight against the spread of coronavirus.
After the end of the competition, the furniture items will be recycled.
Commenting on the arrival of Russian athletes, ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov noted the importance of safety measures that all participants in the Olympics will have to observe.
According to him, it is important not only to show good results, but also to maintain health.
“Athletes who have come here will practice according to their own plan.
The challenge now is to acclimatize and start the training process.
As for the meetings, we will meet on pleasant occasions - when the first medals will go.
Including for security purposes, in order to minimize contacts, "Match TV quotes Pozdnyakov.
The "amenities" of the Olympic Village have already been appreciated by Russian tennis players.
Elena Vesnina, who replaced Daria Kasatkina in the national team, admitted that she experienced two feelings when she first saw the place where they were going to live.
She said that the team got into the rooms only six hours after arrival, since everyone who arrived had to take a PCR test and wait in line to check in.
The surprises did not end there.
It turned out that not all rooms are designed for tall people, so 198-centimeter Karen Khachanov practically rested his head against the ceiling of the restroom.
“Now attention!
Karen Khachanov asks the question: how will he wash in this shower?
And what in general?
No soap!
But the toilets are branded.
We are looking for positive in everything, ”Vesnina commented on the video clip.
At the same time, the tennis player was pleased with the choice of dishes in the local canteen, before entering which all visitors need to wash their hands and put on gloves.
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Publication from the Russian Olympic Committee (@olympic_russia)
However, not everyone liked the local food. Thus, the representatives of the South Korean national team were forbidden to use products for their athletes from the Japanese prefecture of Fukushima, where in 2011 there was an accident at a nuclear power plant. The National Olympic Committee fears that products from this region may contain radiation, although the organizers of the Games previously denied this fact by publishing the test results. A separate food center will be created for South Korean athletes, where cooks and nutritionists who have arrived in Japan will work.
Most of the athletes have already adapted to the local conditions and started training. And some have approached the preparation very creatively. Hot weather is expected during the Olympics in Japan, and to prepare for these conditions, three-time world champion in road cycling Annemik van Vloeten installed a simulator in a sauna, where he works at a temperature of 35 ° C.
But not only the Olympians, but also the organizers have to adapt to difficult conditions from all points of view. Due to a difficult epidemiological stop, spectators will not be allowed into the stands. According to the President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, so that "athletes do not feel lonely in the arenas", the internoise recorded at the previous Games will be used. In addition, special scoreboards will show how many fans from different countries are watching this or that competition.
However, some athletes were forced to go home immediately after arriving in Japan.
Six Polish swimmers were mistakenly included in the application of their national team, which was supposed to consist of 17, not 23 people.
"Superfluous" athletes, for whom this was an unpleasant surprise, expressed their intention to achieve the resignation of the president of the Polish Swimming Federation.
But, perhaps, the most high-profile incident of the pre-Olympic days was the disappearance of a weightlifter from Uganda.
At first, 20-year-old Julius Sekitoleko did not appear for PCR testing, and then was excluded from the application.
On July 20, he was supposed to return home, but it turned out that the athlete had disappeared from the location of the national team.
Thanks to the CCTV footage, it became known that Sekitoleko bought a ticket for a high-speed train from Osaka to Nagoya, and left a letter in the room, in which he complained about the hard life in Uganda and announced his intention to find a job in Japan.
The police continue to search for the fugitive.
The scandalous situations did not end there.
A delegation from South Korea hung ambiguous banners on the balconies of their rooms in the Olympic Village with a quote from the Korean naval commander Li Sunsin, who lived in the 16th century and was famous for his victories over the Japanese navy.
Representatives of one of the local right-wing political parties accused the Koreans of anti-Japanese provocation and demanded to remove the posters, threatening to be suspended from the Games.
Bach later reported that the demand had been met.