Guwahati News Desk: Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic situation, the athletes participating at the Tokyo Olympics will have to put their medals around their own necks.
International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, was the one who announced about this “very significant change” on Wednesday.
On a conference call from Tokyo, Bach informed the international media, “The medals will not be given around the neck. They will be presented to the athlete on a tray and then the athlete will take the medal him or herself. It will be made sure that the person who will put the medal on the tray will do so only with disinfected gloves, so that the athlete can be sure that nobody touched them before.”
Bach further confirmed on Wednesday that in Tokyo “there will be no handshakes and there will be no hugs during the ceremony.”
As per the earlier traditions, the Olympic medals are typically presented by an IOC member or a leading official in a sport’s governing body. However, in keeping in mind the aspect of protection and prevention against spreading of the coronavirus, the athletes have to follow the newly laid down guidelines. Even the IOC stated that it was mandatory for the medalists and ceremony officials to wear masks.
As the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, will not be allowing the presence of spectators to attend most of the Olympic events, crowd noises recorded from each event at previous Olympics will be fed into the arena as one of several ways to support the athletes.
Bach informed that an “immersive sound system” will try to create atmosphere for the athletes in the stadiums and venues.
Also, during the game period, the athletes will be connected after their event via screens, to their families, friends and fan clubs at home, while fans will be able to send video clips of up to six seconds that can be displayed next to the field of play.