Once Kim snagged her gold medal, Cocoa Cinnamon took it farther, naming a churro ice cream sandwich in her honor. The Chloe Kim is two tightly coiled churros sandwiched around a scoop of vanilla ice cream from Durham ice cream shop, The Parlour. It looks kind of like a gold medal covered in rainbow sprinkles.
@chloekimsnow We're so inspired by your gold medal performance that we made a churro ice cream sandwich with rainbow sugar sprinkles. It's two warm freshly made churro spirals with our local @parlourdurham vanilla ice cream (regular or vegan) and rainbow sprinkles! #TheChloeKimpic.twitter.com/Sp4qeCO3Fp
Cocoa Cinnamon has expanded to three Durham coffee shops owned by husband and wife Leon Grodski de Barrera and Areli Barrera de Grodski. Their third shop opened last summer in Durham’s Lakewood neighborhood, adding coffee roasting and churro-making to the operation. N&O Restaurant Critic Greg Cox named it the best coffeehouse in the Triangle this year.
Reaching out to Kim was all Leon’s idea, they said, compelled to send the good vibes of digital churros thousands of miles across the globe to Korea. Leon’s churro offer was name dropped in The Washington Post, alongside other branding efforts of appliance companies and butcher shops.
Grodski de Barrera’s love of the Olympics goes deeper than tweeting food-related congratulations. In his high school years, Grodski de Barrera was one of the top badminton players in the country, even living for months at an Olympic training facility in Michigan as the United States built up its youth program. The experience makes him more than a passive viewer.
“The cool thing it does for me is give me the insight and appreciation for her incredible story,” Grodski de Barrera said. “You gather how much these folks are working out, their extreme discipline and dedication, while having some fun.”
He never competed in the Olympics, but said he could relate to the training regimen, of competing and traveling across the country. The Olympics explore the limits of human potential, he said, in the way Einstein pushed science and NASA discovers worlds. Peering into that once long ago makes him a better businessman today.
“Of all the crazy things humans do with their bodies, why do we do this thing, what possesses humans to fling themselves down a mountain,” Grodski de Barrera said. “I’m a better business owner because of it. It made me extremely disciplined, showed me what it means to fight through ups and downs, how to live with people around the world, to be self reliant, to travel. All of that is at the essence of entrepreneurship.”
So far, Kim hasn’t made any moves to claim her Durham churros, but her ice cream sandwich will likely be perfected if she ever dropped by.
“I had five yesterday,” Grodski de Barrera said – all in the name of research.
\n","template_type":"","story_teaser":"","lead_media":{"id":"201109939","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/living/food-drink/zcsghd/picture201109939","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"Chloe Kim","publication":"newsobserver","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/10568","modified_date":1519156100,"allow_comments":false,"allow_index":false,"allow_follow":false,"published_date":1519156100,"thumbnail":"https://www.newsobserver.com/living/food-drink/zcsghd/picture201109939/alternates/FREE_1140/Chloe%20Kim","href":"/web/v1/content/201109939","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["10568"],"credit":"AP","dateline":"","caption":"Chloe Kim, of the United States, smiles during the women’s halfpipe finals at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018.","photographer":"Lee Jin-man","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"Raleigh","allow_comments":true,"topic_tags":[],"image":"https://www.newsobserver.com/living/food-drink/zcsghd/picture201109939/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Chloe%20Kim"},{"id":"247428295","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article247428295.html","asset_type":"wirestory","state":"published","title":"Belarus’ Olympic body faces IOC punishment amid protests","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","home_section":{"name":"Sports","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/"},"modified_date":1606335061,"allow_index":true,"allow_follow":true,"meta_description":"The International Olympic Committee says it is weighing formal punishments for Olympic officials in Belarus.","published_date":1606335037,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/uvgus0/picture247428255/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Belarus_Protests_45213.jpg","keywords":"IOC, Belarus Investigation","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["49286","65382","10988"],"credit":"","dateline":"LAUSANNE, Switzerland","summary":"The International Olympic Committee says it is weighing formal punishments for Olympic officials in Belarus.","content":"
The IOC said Wednesday it is weighing formal punishments for Olympic officials in Belarus after widespread reports of reprisals against athletes amid protests against the country’s disputed presidential election.
The authoritarian leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, claimed a sixth presidential term after an August election seen by many as rigged in his favor.
Lukashenko has also been president of the Belarus Olympic Committee for 23 years.
After an executive board meeting Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee said it was acting amid “the growing number of worrying reports concerning athletes, officials and sports in Belarus.”
Each Sunday for the past 16 weeks, street protests have called for Lukashenko to resign. Thousands have been detained in an often violent police crackdown.
The IOC said it would consider unspecified “appropriate measures or sanctions” against the Belarusian Olympic body for possible breaches of the Olympic charter, without naming Lukashenko.
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/247428295","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":"The Associated Press","template_type":"","story_teaser":"The International Olympic Committee says it is weighing formal punishments for Olympic officials in Belarus.","lead_media":{"id":"247428255","url":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/uvgus0/picture247428255","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"Belarus_Protests_45213.jpg","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","modified_date":1606335044,"expires":1607544642,"allow_comments":false,"allow_index":false,"allow_follow":false,"published_date":1606335042,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/uvgus0/picture247428255/alternates/FREE_1140/Belarus_Protests_45213.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/247428255","access_tags":["matbasic"],"credit":"AP","dateline":"","caption":"A man wearing a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus holds an old Belarusian national flag during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020. The Belarusian human rights group Viasna says more than 140 people have been arrested and many of them beaten by police during protests calling for the country’s authoritarian president to resign. The demonstrations that attracted thousands were the 16th consecutive Sunday of large protests against President Alexander Lukashenko. (AP Photo)","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"The_Associated_Press","copyright":"Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.","allow_comments":true,"topic_tags":[],"image":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/uvgus0/picture247428255/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Belarus_Protests_45213.jpg"},{"id":"247418520","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article247418520.html","asset_type":"wirestory","state":"published","title":"2 weightlifters lose London Olympic medals because of doping","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","home_section":{"name":"Sports","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/"},"modified_date":1606315680,"allow_index":true,"allow_follow":true,"meta_description":"Two Romanian weightlifters have been stripped of their 2012 Olympic medals after positive doping tests.","published_date":1606315666,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/79vn7t/picture247419165/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Doping_2012_Olympics_19396.jpg","keywords":"Doping, Romanian Weightlifters","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["65382","10988"],"credit":"","dateline":"LAUSANNE, Switzerland","summary":"Two Romanian weightlifters have been stripped of their 2012 Olympic medals after positive doping tests.","content":"
Two Romanian weightlifters were stripped of their 2012 Olympic medals on Wednesday after positive doping tests, extending the record of doping cases at any Summer or Winter Games to 77.
The International Olympic Committee said silver medalist Roxana Cocos and bronze medalist Razvan Martin tested positive for multiple steroids in a reanalysis of their samples.
A third Romanian, Gabriel Sincraian, also tested positive for steroids. He now faces a life ban from the International Weightlifting Federation for a third doping sanction.
All four members of Romania’s weightlifting team at the 2012 London Olympics have now been disqualified by the IOC for doping.
The latest sanctions bring the total of London doping cases to 77, five more than at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, according to IOC statistics.
Of those 77 cases, 68 were revealed in a reanalysis program that relied on an improved test for anabolic steroids, which detected infractions by an athlete for a longer period after use. The IOC had until August 2020, eight years after the London Olympics closed, to find positive samples, and longer to finish processing disciplinary cases.
Martin, who won a bronze medal in the men’s 69-kilogram class, tested positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, Metenolone and Stanozolol, the IOC said.
The 28-year-old athlete faces a longer ban by the IWF because he previously served a two-year doping ban.
With Martin’s disqualification, North Korean lifter Kim Myong-hyok could be upgraded from fourth to get the bronze medal.
Cocos finished second in the women’s 69-kilogram class. Anna Nurmukhambetova of Kazakhstan and Ubaldina Valoyes of Colombia are next in line to be upgraded in the medals.
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/247418520","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":"The Associated Press","template_type":"","story_teaser":"Two Romanian weightlifters have been stripped of their 2012 Olympic medals after positive doping tests.","lead_media":{"id":"247419165","url":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/79vn7t/picture247419165","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"Doping_2012_Olympics_19396.jpg","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","modified_date":1606315668,"expires":1607525266,"allow_comments":false,"allow_index":false,"allow_follow":false,"published_date":1606315666,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/79vn7t/picture247419165/alternates/FREE_1140/Doping_2012_Olympics_19396.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/247419165","access_tags":["matbasic"],"credit":"AP","dateline":"","caption":"FILE - In this Tuesday, July 31, 2012 file photo, Razvan Constantin Martin of Romania competes during the men’s 69-kg, group A, weightlifting competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. Two Romanian weightlifters have been stripped of their 2012 London Olympics medals for positive tests for steroids. It brings London’s record total of doping cases at any Summer or Winter Games to 77. The International Olympic Committee says silver medalist Roxana Cocos and bronze medalist Razvan Martin tested positive for multiple steroids in reanalysis of their samples. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)","photographer":"Hassan Ammar","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"The_Associated_Press","copyright":"Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.","allow_comments":true,"topic_tags":[],"image":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/79vn7t/picture247419165/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Doping_2012_Olympics_19396.jpg"},{"id":"247390655","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/article247390655.html","asset_type":"wirestory","state":"published","title":"Tokyo governor: Japan can host Olympics despite virus spike","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","home_section":{"name":"News","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/"},"modified_date":1606209181,"allow_index":true,"allow_follow":true,"meta_description":"Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike remains firm about being able to safely host the Olympics next year despite growing concerns about Japan’s recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections.","published_date":1606209138,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/ke3tis/picture247390650/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Japan_Olympics_IOC_83374.jpg","keywords":"Tokyo, Koike","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["10601","65382","10988"],"credit":"","dateline":"TOKYO","summary":"Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike remains firm about being able to safely host the Olympics next year despite growing concerns about Japan’s recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections.","content":"
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike remains firm about being able to safely hold the Olympics next year despite growing concerns about Japan's recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections.
Japan has experienced an uptick of the infections this month with a nationwide daily total exceeding 2,000 as the government tries to balance preventive measures and business activity without further hurting the pandemic-hit economy.
“As the host city, I'm determined to achieve the games whatever it takes,\" Koike told a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Her comment comes a week after International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach's visit to Tokyo, where he held a series of talks with Japanese Olympic officials, including Koike, to showcase their determination to pull off the games.
Koike said widespread use of masks among the Japanese is one of most effective safety measures that have spared Japan from the high rate of infections that have taken place in the United States and Europe.
Many Japanese used them as “moral duty” in trying to cooperate in disease prevention efforts, she said.
The recent steady climb in cases, however, could call into question plans to hold the Olympics. Bach said “participants” and athletes would be encouraged to get vaccinated in order to protect the Japanese public, but it is unclear how that would be addressed if cases surge in the host country.
Koike has met with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to discuss how to mitigate the recent resurgence of infections. Tokyo's daily cases have also spiked in recent weeks.
Suga on Sunday announced a decision to partially suspend the government's GoTo campaign that encourages travel and eating out with discounts to support the pandemic-hit businesses, after a wave of criticisms that his government was too slow to take steps despite experts' repeated calls for government action.
Japan, during its seven-week state of emergency in April and May, had non-binding stay-home and business closure requests but still did better than many other countries.
Japan had about 134,000 cases with nearly 2,000 deaths as of Monday, according to the health ministry. Tokyo, after topping 500 cases last week, reported 186 new cases on Tuesday for a total of nearly 38,200 cases.
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/247390655","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":"By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press","template_type":"","story_teaser":"Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike remains firm about being able to safely host the Olympics next year despite growing concerns about Japan’s recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections.","lead_media":{"id":"247390650","url":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/ke3tis/picture247390650","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"Japan_Olympics_IOC_83374.jpg","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","modified_date":1606206700,"expires":1607416297,"allow_comments":false,"allow_index":false,"allow_follow":false,"published_date":1606206697,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/ke3tis/picture247390650/alternates/FREE_1140/Japan_Olympics_IOC_83374.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/247390650","access_tags":["matbasic"],"credit":"AP","dateline":"","caption":"International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, left, and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, right, pose for a photo, before their meeting in Tokyo, Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. IOC President Bach is beginning a visit to Tokyo to convince politicians and the Japanese public that the postponed Olympics will open in just over eight months.(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)","photographer":"Koji Sasahara","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"The_Associated_Press","copyright":"Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.","allow_comments":true,"topic_tags":[],"image":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/ke3tis/picture247390650/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Japan_Olympics_IOC_83374.jpg"},{"id":"247282774","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/article247282774.html","asset_type":"wirestory","state":"published","title":"Tokyo Olympics: Q&A on vaccines, fans, qualifying and costs","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","home_section":{"name":"News","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/"},"modified_date":1605780841,"allow_index":true,"allow_follow":true,"meta_description":"The Tokyo Olympics were postponed eight months ago and are set to open in eight months on July 23, 2021.","published_date":1605780776,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/85ydib/picture247282759/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Olympics_Tokyo_Bach_45895.jpg","keywords":"Tokyo, Q&A","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["10604","10601","65382","10988"],"credit":"","dateline":"TOKYO","summary":"The Tokyo Olympics were postponed eight months ago and are set to open in eight months on July 23, 2021.","content":"
We're at the halfway point. The Tokyo Olympics were postponed eight months ago, and now are to open in eight months: July 23, 2021. Crunch time is coming.
Tokyo organizers and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach have spoken vaguely about how the games can take place in the midst of a pandemic. Plans and dozens of “scenarios” have been drawn up about COVID-19 countermeasures: possible quarantines, vaccines, safe distancing, and making the Athletes Village a safe “bubble environment.”
These ideas will have to become concrete solutions beginning next month and into early 2021.
Hanging in the balance are 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,400 Paralympians. The IOC depends on the games since 91% of its revenue is from selling TV rights and sponsorships.
Here are some questions and answers about where the Olympics stand on several fronts.
Q: Bach was in Tokyo this week and said vaccines and rapid testing are on the horizon, which he believes will make it much easier to hold the games. Will athletes be required to take a vaccine to compete?
A: Bach says “no.” But athletes and any official or fan going to Japan will be under pressure to get vaccinated. Officials are suggesting athletes will face a 14-day quarantine after entering Japan.
IOC vice president John Coates said the IOC and national Olympic committees will be looking for “role models” among athletes to encourage vaccination. Bach says healthcare workers are a priority for the vaccine ahead of athletes. IOC officials have also suggested vaguely that the Switzerland-based body will pick up some of the vaccination costs. As is often the case, there has been nothing specific.
Q: Will fans be allowed into venues?
A: We still don't know. Bach says he expects a “reasonable” number of fans to be able to attend events. There is still no decision announced on allowing thousands of fans from abroad to attend. There is the health issue. But there is also pressure on the operating budget to allow as many fans as possible. The budget foresees $800 million in revenue from ticket sales — the third largest income item. Japan has been successful holding sports events with some fans, at times at the 70-80% capacity level.
Q: How many athletes have already qualified for the Olympics.
A: Officials say 57% of the slots are full. So many have not yet qualified, and many qualifying events have been scrapped by the pandemic. It's clear athletes in some countries have a better chance to train than others. This could leave an uneven playing field and could also force some slots in the Olympics to be awarded without a traditional qualifying event. This is part of the “collateral damage” to the Olympics from the pandemic.
Q: Who is paying for the delay and the rising costs?
A: The IOC, organizers, and local politicians seldom talk about the costs. Japan says it's officially spending $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics. But a government audit last year said it was twice that. All but $5.6 billion is public money. Over and above this, the delay is reported in Japan to cost $2 billion to $3 billion. No one in authority has offered an official number. The IOC has said it will chip in about $650 million toward the delay but has given few specifics.
A University of Oxford study says these are the most expensive Summer Olympics on record.
Organizers recently announced they found simplification savings of about $280 million — about 2% of the official outlays. Tokyo said the Olympics would cost $7.3 billion when it was awarded the games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2013.
Q: What's the COVID-19 situation in Japan?
A: Better than most places, but infection cases are rising. About 2,000 people are reported to have died from COVID-19 in Japan, in a population about 125 million. New cases in Tokyo on Thursday topped 500 for the first time. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says the country is on “maximum alert.” This surge is not likely to convince an already skeptical population that the Olympics are a safe and sensible idea.
Q: I have read these are the best prepared Olympics in history. Is this true?
A: Bach has repeatedly said this, and he has lauded organizers for their ability to quickly adapt during the pandemic. Few countries could handle the postponement as well as Japan has.
It's ironic, therefore, that Tokyo has also been the subject of a probe by French investigators relating to alleged bribery during the bidding for the games. Bach was asked this week in Tokyo about reported payments of $8 million made by the Tokyo bid committee to Haruyuki Takahashi.
Takahashi is a former executive of the Japanese marketing company Dentsu Inc., the marketing agent for the Tokyo Games. He is reported to have lobbied IOC members for votes.
“With regard to Mr. Takahashi, we received confirmation that there was no infringement of the IOC rules,” Bach said this week when asked.
Former Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda was forced to resign last year after acknowledging he signed off on a $2 million payment to a Singapore-based consulting company for bid work. He denied any wrongdoing.
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/247282774","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":"By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer","template_type":"","story_teaser":"The Tokyo Olympics were postponed eight months ago and are set to open in eight months on July 23, 2021.","lead_media":{"id":"247282759","url":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/85ydib/picture247282759","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"Olympics_Tokyo_Bach_45895.jpg","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","modified_date":1605768697,"expires":1606978294,"allow_comments":false,"allow_index":false,"allow_follow":false,"published_date":1605768694,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/85ydib/picture247282759/alternates/FREE_1140/Olympics_Tokyo_Bach_45895.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/247282759","access_tags":["matbasic"],"credit":"AP","dateline":"","caption":"IOC President Thomas Bach speaks to media during a visit to the National Stadium, the main venue for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games postponed until July 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. Bach said during this week’s trip to Tokyo that he is “encouraging” all Olympic “participants” and fans to be vaccinated - if one becomes available - if they are going to attend next year’s Tokyo Olympics. (Behrouz Mehri/Pool Photo via AP)","photographer":"Behrouz Mehri","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"The_Associated_Press","copyright":"Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.","allow_comments":true,"topic_tags":[],"image":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/85ydib/picture247282759/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Olympics_Tokyo_Bach_45895.jpg"},{"id":"247259614","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/article247259614.html","asset_type":"wirestory","state":"published","title":"Tokyo Olympics: Many rules, no partying, no hanging around","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","home_section":{"name":"News","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/"},"modified_date":1605711601,"allow_index":true,"allow_follow":true,"meta_description":"Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics won’t have the luxury of hanging around once they’ve wrapped up their event.","published_date":1605711565,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/f2qpl6/picture247259584/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Virus_Outbreak_Tokyo_2020_OIC_36512.jpg","keywords":"Tokyo, Following Rules","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["10601","65382","10988"],"credit":"","dateline":"TOKYO","summary":"Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics won’t have the luxury of hanging around once they’ve wrapped up their event.","content":"
Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics won't have the luxury of hanging around once they've wrapped up their event.
No late-night parties in the Athletes Village. No nights — or early mornings — on the town.
Instead of getting to know their global neighbors, Olympic athletes will be encouraged to leave Japan a day or two after they've finished competing.
From the opening ceremony to life in the village on Tokyo Bay, the postponed 2020 Olympics will be like no other. There'll be stringent rules and guidelines — and maybe vaccines and rapid testing — to pull off the games in the middle of a pandemic that has been blamed for more than 1 million deaths worldwide.
“Staying longer in the village increases the potential for problems,” John Coates, the IOC member in charge of overseeing Tokyo preparations, said Wednesday at a briefing for the Olympics and Paralympics.
Coates was asked if athletes would be discouraged from sightseeing, or looking around the city.
“Yes,” he replied simply, a short answer suggesting these Olympics will be all business with few frills.
Coates accompanied International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach to Tokyo this week as he met Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and shored up support with key Japanese sponsors.
It was Bach's first visit to Japan since the Olympics were postponed in March.
Bach left Tokyo on Wednesday after two days of saying a vaccine was likely to be available and athletes would be strongly encouraged to take it.
Organizers and the IOC are growing confident they will have a vaccine and rapid testing. This will help, but dozens of other countermeasures will also be in place; social distancing, masks and bubbles in the venues and the Athletes Village.
Japan has controlled the virus reasonably well with about 1,900 deaths attributed to COVID-19. But almost 500 new cases were reported Wednesday in Tokyo, and more than 2,000 around Japan — both one-day records.
Cases are surging in the country just as optimism is also on the rise.
Christophe Dubi, the Olympic Games executive director, acknowledged much is still in the planning stages with many scenarios in play ahead of the scheduled opening on July 23, 2021.
“We don’t know what the situation will be next year, but some decisions will have to be made already in December,\" Dubi said, speaking remotely.
Coates said the opening ceremony would be restricted to only athletes and a maximum of six team officials. In the past, dozens of officials — at times 50, Coates said — were allowed to march, filling in for athletes who may have skipped in order to compete the next day.
“We won't do that this time,” Coates said. “That is just increasing the potential problem in the ceremony.”
Coates said all 206 countries would be represented in the opening ceremony, and a full contingent of 11,000 athletes will compete in the games. But the opening ceremony parade is likely to look smaller.
Officials are also wrestling with how to keep the opening ceremony from becoming a mass-spreading event, even if athletes are tested when they enter Japan and when they leave their home country.
“We don’t want to change the tradition of all athletes having the opportunity to parade in the opening ceremony,” Coates said, suggesting athletes might be tested as they entered the stadium, or in the tunnel as the come on to the track.
There are sure to be lots of rules. And athletes will be asked to follow them, as will thousands of officials, judges, media, VIPs and broadcasters who will need to enter Japan.
“I am absolutely sure that people will play by the rules and respect whatever guidelines are put in place,\" said International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons, who spoke remotely from Brazil. “Every stakeholder involved in the Olympics and Paralympics understands the importance.”
Bach and Coates have both said they want to have fans from abroad, which has yet to be confirmed. Bach said he expected a “reasonable number” of fans in the venues. But how many, and from where, is unclear.
“We hope we can give the opportunity to as many people as possible, including foreign spectators,” Coates said. “We want the families of the athletes who come from overseas to have an opportunity to see their children. That’s what the Olympics is about, and I hope it’s possible.”
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/247259614","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":"By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer","template_type":"","story_teaser":"Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics won’t have the luxury of hanging around once they’ve wrapped up their event.","lead_media":{"id":"247259584","url":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/f2qpl6/picture247259584","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"Virus_Outbreak_Tokyo_2020_OIC_36512.jpg","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","modified_date":1605711506,"expires":1606921102,"allow_comments":false,"allow_index":false,"allow_follow":false,"published_date":1605711502,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/f2qpl6/picture247259584/alternates/FREE_1140/Virus_Outbreak_Tokyo_2020_OIC_36512.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/247259584","access_tags":["matbasic"],"credit":"AP","dateline":"","caption":"Yoshiro Mori, president of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, right, greets John Coates, chairman of the Coordination Commission for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, during a press conference in Tokyo, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. (Rodrigo Reyes Marin/Pool Photo via AP)","photographer":"Rodrigo Reyes Marin","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"The_Associated_Press","copyright":"Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.","allow_comments":true,"topic_tags":[],"image":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/f2qpl6/picture247259584/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Virus_Outbreak_Tokyo_2020_OIC_36512.jpg"},{"id":"247243074","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article247243074.html","asset_type":"wirestory","state":"published","title":"Italy promises Olympic committee autonomy after IOC warning","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","home_section":{"name":"Business","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/"},"modified_date":1605644521,"allow_index":true,"allow_follow":true,"meta_description":"Italy’s sports minister has promised “autonomy” for the country’s Olympic committee operations after IOC president Thomas Bach dangled the threat of probation for the Tokyo Games due to alleged government interference.","published_date":1605644500,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/q9vlos/picture247243044/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Olympics_Tokyo_Bach_81021.jpg","keywords":"IOC, Italy Warned","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["10604","49286","65382","10988"],"credit":"","dateline":"ROME","summary":"Italy’s sports minister has promised “autonomy” for the country’s Olympic committee operations after IOC president Thomas Bach dangled the threat of probation for the Tokyo Games due to alleged government interference.","content":"
Italy’s sports minister has promised “autonomy” for the country’s Olympic committee operations, two months after IOC president Thomas Bach dangled the threat of probation for the Tokyo Games due to alleged government interference.
Vincenzo Spadafora, the minister, said he wrote in a letter to the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday that a forthcoming government reform “guarantees CONI proper functional and organizational autonomy, as dictated by the Olympic Charter.”
\n Bach had taken issue with the Italian government’s creation of a new organization, ‘Sport e Salute,’ that was created at the start of last year to run the country’s sports finances, which were previously controlled by an arm of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).
The IOC president had also suggested that the alleged interference could — under extreme circumstances — result in Italy being stripped of hosting rights for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
“The framework recognizes that CONI, with extreme clarity and as perhaps isn’t the case in many other countries, has all the functions it is due according to Article 27 of the Olympic Charter,” read a portion of Spadafora’s letter to Bach.
Still, CONI president Giovanni Malagò said earlier Tuesday that “it doesn’t seem that the problems have been solved.”
CONI has traditionally run all sports in Italy, deciding how to divide up millions of dollars of state funding to each of the country’s national sports federations. Now, Sport e Salute handles that responsibility, with 280 million euros ($325 million) handed out for 2020.
While CONI said it has no problem with the funding issue, it has taken exception to Spadafora's meddling with its election procedures.
Malagò is planning to run for CONI president again next year, but the proposed law could preclude him from serving three consecutive terms.
The reforms must be passed by the end of the month to become law.
“We’ll see what happens over the next few days,” said Malagò, who is an IOC member. “The IOC is waiting, too.”
Possible punishments from the IOC could include preventing Italian athletes competing in Tokyo from wearing their national team uniforms and from hearing their national anthem being played.
Countries whose national Olympic bodies have been suspended for recent Olympics include Russia at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games for a massive doping scandal; and Kuwait at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games for political interference.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/247243074","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":"By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer","template_type":"","story_teaser":"Italy’s sports minister has promised “autonomy” for the country’s Olympic committee operations after IOC president Thomas Bach dangled the threat of probation for the Tokyo Games due to alleged government interference.","lead_media":{"id":"247243044","url":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/q9vlos/picture247243044","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"Olympics_Tokyo_Bach_81021.jpg","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","modified_date":1605644502,"expires":1606854100,"allow_comments":false,"allow_index":false,"allow_follow":false,"published_date":1605644500,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/q9vlos/picture247243044/alternates/FREE_1140/Olympics_Tokyo_Bach_81021.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/247243044","access_tags":["matbasic"],"credit":"AP","dateline":"","caption":"IOC President Thomas Bach wearing a face mask speaks to the media at the National Stadium, the main venue for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games postponed until July 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. Bach said during this week’s trip to Tokyo that he is “encouraging” all Olympic “participants” and fans to be vaccinated - if one becomes available - if they are going to attend next year’s Tokyo Olympics. (Behrouz Mehri/Pool Photo via AP)","photographer":"Behrouz Mehri","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"The_Associated_Press","copyright":"Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.","allow_comments":true,"topic_tags":[],"image":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/q9vlos/picture247243044/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Olympics_Tokyo_Bach_81021.jpg"},{"id":"247235674","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article247235674.html","asset_type":"wirestory","state":"published","title":"Attention, US Olympic hopefuls: Need money? This can help","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","home_section":{"name":"Sports","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/"},"modified_date":1605631441,"allow_index":true,"allow_follow":true,"meta_description":"U.S. Olympic hopefuls will be able to cut their own deals with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s marketing partners.","published_date":1605631424,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/nfngc0/picture247236464/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/USOPC_Athlete_Sponsorship_83057.jpg","keywords":"USOPC, Athlete Sponsorship","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["65382","10988"],"credit":"","dateline":"DENVER","summary":"U.S. Olympic hopefuls will be able to cut their own deals with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s marketing partners.","content":"
U.S. Olympic hopefuls will be able to cut their own deals with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee's marketing partners under a first-of-its-kind plan that has potential to shift the top-heavy sponsorship model that rules the Olympic world.
The USOPC unveiled a program Tuesday called AMP —- Athlete Marketing Program — which will give potential Olympians three ways of connecting with the federation's sponsors. One includes a $1,250 payment in 2021 simply for signing up with an arm of the program that will produce content featuring athletes in groups of three or more.
Another part of the program allows some athletes to earn royalties on licensed merchandise with their name on it. The third part allows athletes to sign separate endorsement deals with USOPC sponsors. The entire program is voluntary. Athletes will sign up by building a profile on an online platform that sponsors and licensees can access.
“It gives you a chance to get marketing exposure you might not have had access to,\" two-time Olympic champion triple jumper Christian Taylor said.
The program could augment deals that many champions such as Taylor already have, while providing a starting point for up-and-comers who haven't hired agents or otherwise become well-known.
“For the majority of athletes who never get any opportunity, it's a fair and a great way to get some exposure,” agent Sheryl Shade said. “For the big-name athletes, this is not where they're going to get their sponsorships.”
The program, which begins in March, is the USOPC's biggest attempt to date to provide a remedy for the IOC's much-maligned Rule 40. The Olympics have long used the rule to restrict marketing opportunities for athletes, essentially forbidding them from marketing themselves during the games with companies whose brands compete with Olympic sponsors.
That restriction, combined with the limited windows of opportunity for most Olympic athletes, has fostered tension between athletes, who want to be able to cash in when their profiles are at their highest, and the IOC, which has long insisted it must enforce the restrictions to ensure value for its biggest sponsors who pay upward of $100 million for an Olympic cycle.
“We started to look at Rule 40, and how do we create opportunities,” USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said.
The full pilot program is available for athletes who finished in the top eight (or top six, in team events) in the most recent year's world championship or equivalent event. Individual marketing opportunities will be available for those who competed in the most recent world championships or have qualified for the upcoming Tokyo or Beijing Olympics.
Hirshland acknowledged the program is a work in progress and doesn't expect all athletes to be overjoyed by a $1,250 payment alone, but urges them to see the program as a chance to build something bigger than what the dollars will do on their own.
“It's a chance to tap into how much demand there is out there,” she said. “And it's a chance for athletes who are willing and eager to engage and build their own profiles and brands in their own way. There's value in that an athlete's own marketing arrangement can be different from what our organization delivers” in its own marketing deals.
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/247235674","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":"By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer","template_type":"","story_teaser":"U.S. Olympic hopefuls will be able to cut their own deals with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s marketing partners.","lead_media":{"id":"247236464","url":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/nfngc0/picture247236464","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"USOPC_Athlete_Sponsorship_83057.jpg","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","modified_date":1605631426,"expires":1606841024,"allow_comments":false,"allow_index":false,"allow_follow":false,"published_date":1605631424,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/nfngc0/picture247236464/alternates/FREE_1140/USOPC_Athlete_Sponsorship_83057.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/247236464","access_tags":["matbasic"],"credit":"AP","dateline":"","caption":"FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2020, file photo, United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Los Angeles 2028 organizers in Beverly Hills, Calif. U.S. Olympic hopefuls will be able to cut their own deals with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s marketing partners under a first-of-its-kind plan that has potential to shift the top-heavy sponsorship model that rules the Olympic world. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)","photographer":"Evan Vucci","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"The_Associated_Press","copyright":"Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.","allow_comments":true,"topic_tags":[],"image":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/nfngc0/picture247236464/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/USOPC_Athlete_Sponsorship_83057.jpg"},{"id":"247232129","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/article247232129.html","asset_type":"wirestory","state":"published","title":"Bach issues gentle plea for Olympians to get vaccinated","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","home_section":{"name":"News","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/"},"modified_date":1605621781,"allow_index":true,"allow_follow":true,"meta_description":"IOC President Thomas Bach has issued a gentle plea to all competitors to get vaccinated before the Tokyo Olympics.","published_date":1605621719,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/6r06s1/picture247232089/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Japan_Olympics_Tokyo_Bach_Visit_01166.jpg","keywords":"Tokyo, Bach","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["10601","65382","10988"],"credit":"","dateline":"TOKYO","summary":"IOC President Thomas Bach has issued a gentle plea to all competitors to get vaccinated before the Tokyo Olympics.","content":"
As he toured the Athletes Village on Tuesday, IOC President Thomas Bach issued a gentle plea to all competitors to get vaccinated before the Tokyo Olympics — if a vaccine is available.
Bach, who is visiting Tokyo this week for the first time since the Olympics were postponed, again said the vaccine would not be a requirement, but he urged athletes and fans to help protect themselves and others.
“The IOC will appeal to the athletes and other participants — in particular all those who are living here in the village — to have a vaccination,” Bach said, wearing a white mask with the Olympic rings on the right side. “But it will be their free decision.
“I’m sure many, many of the athletes and the participants will follow this advice, or maybe don’t even need it and will do it on their own.”
Bach also said a “reasonable number” of fans should be able to attend the Tokyo Olympics with or without a vaccine. And, before heading to the new $1.4 billion National Stadium in central Tokyo, he said confidently that the postponed games will open on July 23.
Bach was greeted by a few protesters outside the stadium chanting: “Get out IOC. Get out Olympics.\"
Japan has controlled the virus comparatively well, with about 1,900 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in a country of about 125 million. However, cases have been rising lately, particularly in Tokyo and the northern island of Hokkaido.
In a more private setting, Bach has spoken directly about Olympic athletes’ responsibility to consider the vaccine.
In an on-line session last month with the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission, Bach was asked — among other things — if athletes would be “forced” to be vaccinated. The Associated Press obtained a 90-minute recording of the session, which included more than 100 athletes or their representatives. It was monitored by Kirsty Coventry, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and chairperson of the Athletes’ Commission.
In that session, Bach said “we are not there yet” in terms of requiring a vaccine, but he made his feelings clear that athletes owe it to each other — and themselves — when thinking about a vaccination.
“Every athlete should look at his fellow athletes and take this into consideration,” Bach said to the commission. “Because the vaccination is not just about the individual. It’s a protection for the entire community.
“And there I think each and everyone of us has a responsibility in this crisis, a responsibility not just for us individually but for all of the people who surround us and who are our fellow team members, who are fellow Olympians.”
Two vaccine makers have said preliminary results from their late-stage studies suggest their experimental vaccines are strongly protective. Early results provide strong signals that the vaccine could prevent a majority of disease when large groups of people are vaccinated.
Not all athletes are likely to want to take the vaccine. For some it will be a question of individual liberty. Others will fear vaccines against COVID-19 are being rushed, and possibly unsafe. Some could fear falling ill after taking the vaccine, jeopardizing their Olympic chances.
“We can solve this crisis like other challenges only if we are in solidarity, and if we all take responsibility,” Bach said in the online conference with athletes in early October, acknowledging some athletes would see taking the vaccine as a “sacrifice.”
In Tokyo, Bach said that nurses, doctors and health care workers should be first in line for a vaccine, ahead of healthy, young athletes.
As well as the 11,000 Olympic athletes, there could be tens of thousands of officials, judges, VIPs, and media and broadcasters traveling to Japan for the games.
Tokyo Olympic officials and the International Olympic Committee have said that athletes testing positive at the games could be barred from competing, similar to the way a doping suspect is removed.
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/247232129","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":"By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer","template_type":"","story_teaser":"IOC President Thomas Bach has issued a gentle plea to all competitors to get vaccinated before the Tokyo Olympics.","lead_media":{"id":"247232089","url":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/6r06s1/picture247232089","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"Japan_Olympics_Tokyo_Bach_Visit_01166.jpg","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","modified_date":1605593901,"expires":1606803499,"allow_comments":false,"allow_index":false,"allow_follow":false,"published_date":1605593899,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/6r06s1/picture247232089/alternates/FREE_1140/Japan_Olympics_Tokyo_Bach_Visit_01166.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/247232089","access_tags":["matbasic"],"credit":"AP","dateline":"","caption":"Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, speaks during the joint press conference between IOC and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) in Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 16, 2020. Olympic participants and fans arriving for next year’s postponed Tokyo Olympics are likely to face requirements to be vaccinated to protect the Japanese public, Bach said Monday after meeting with new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. (Du Xiaoyi/Pool Photo via AP)","photographer":"Du Xiaoyi","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"The_Associated_Press","copyright":"Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.","allow_comments":true,"topic_tags":[],"image":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/6r06s1/picture247232089/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Japan_Olympics_Tokyo_Bach_Visit_01166.jpg"},{"id":"247226749","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article247226749.html","asset_type":"wirestory","state":"published","title":"Bill to criminalize doping schemes passes Senate","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","home_section":{"name":"Sports","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/"},"modified_date":1605569401,"allow_index":true,"allow_follow":true,"meta_description":"A bill that will strengthen American law enforcement’s ability to deal with widespread international doping conspiracies has passed the Senate unopposed and awaits the president’s signature.","published_date":1605569362,"keywords":"Doping Bill","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["49286","65382","10988"],"credit":"","dateline":"","summary":"A bill that will strengthen American law enforcement’s ability to deal with widespread international doping conspiracies has passed the Senate unopposed and awaits the president’s signature.","content":"
A bill that will strengthen American law enforcement's ability to deal with widespread international doping conspiracies passed the Senate unopposed Monday and awaits the president's signature.
The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act will allow U.S. prosecutors to go after doping schemes at international events in which Americans are involved as athletes, sponsors or broadcasters. The events would not necessarily have to take place in the United States. The law would not go after individual athletes caught in the schemes.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has actively opposed key parts of the measure, budgeting six figures to lobby lawmakers over its concerns about the “extraterritorial” jurisdiction the bill proposed. In a letter sent to lawmakers earlier this year, WADA claimed the law would “have the unintended consequences of shattering the anti-doping system.\"
At a tense WADA meeting last week, a U.S. representative to the agency portrayed WADA's protests as a lost cause.
“Democrats and Republicans don't agree on much these days but they all agree that the Russian doping scandal and WADA's handling of it undermined confidence in the global anti-doping system,” said Anthony Jones of the U.S. drug-control office.
The bill is named after Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of Moscow's anti-doping laboratory who blew the whistle on some of Russia's schemes to help athletes avoid positive tests during the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and other key events. Rodchenkov now lives in hiding in the United States.
His attorney, Jim Walden, said the passage of the bill signaled “the dawn of a new day for clean American and global athletes.”
“Very soon, U.S. authorities will be able to prosecute those involved in systematic doping fraud. This will be an immediate worldwide deterrent,” Walden said.
The law would be in line with others that have helped U.S. authorities crack down on international corruption in different areas. It calls for fines of up to $1 million and prison sentences of up to 10 years for those who participate in schemes designed to influence international sports competitions through doping.
Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, said: “It is a monumental day in the fight for clean sport worldwide.”
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/247226749","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":"By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer","template_type":"","story_teaser":"A bill that will strengthen American law enforcement’s ability to deal with widespread international doping conspiracies has passed the Senate unopposed and awaits the president’s signature.","owner":"The_Associated_Press","copyright":"Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.","allow_comments":true,"topic_tags":[],"image":""},{"id":"247210739","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/celebrities/article247210739.html","asset_type":"wirestory","state":"published","title":"Bach: Tokyo Olympic ‘participants’ encouraged to get vaccine","publication":"mcclatchy-wires","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/50877","home_section":{"name":"Celebrities","url":"https://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/celebrities/"},"modified_date":1605532158,"allow_index":true,"allow_follow":true,"meta_description":"IOC President Thomas Bach says Olympic “participants” and fans arriving for next year’s postponed Tokyo Games will be encouraged to be vaccinated to protect the Japanese public.","published_date":1605527023,"thumbnail":"https://www.mcclatchy-wires.com/incoming/7fxi6i/picture247210724/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Japan_Olympics_IOC_28737.jpg","keywords":"Tokyo, Bach Visit","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["10526","49286","10601","65382","10988","10550"],"credit":"","dateline":"TOKYO","summary":"IOC President Thomas Bach says Olympic “participants” and fans arriving for next year’s postponed Tokyo Games will be encouraged to be vaccinated to protect the Japanese public.","content":"
Olympic “participants” and fans arriving for next year’s postponed Tokyo Games will be encouraged to be vaccinated to protect the Japanese public, IOC President Thomas Bach said Monday.
Bach said it won’t be mandatory, but he left no doubt it will be strongly pushed.
Bach campaigned across Tokyo on Monday, his first visit to Japan since the Olympics were postponed almost eight months ago amid the coronavirus pandemic. He met support at all stops; from Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and Yoshiro Mori, the head of the local organizing committee and also a former prime minister.
“In order to protect the Japanese people and out of respect for the Japanese people, the IOC will undertake great effort so that as many (people) as possible — Olympic participants and visitors will arrive here (with a) vaccine, if by then a vaccine is available,” Bach said after talks with Suga.
“We want to convince as many foreign participants as possible to accept a vaccine,” Bach added later after meeting with Mori. “This makes us all very confident that we can have spectators in the Olympic stadia next year and that spectators will enjoy a safe environment.”
Bach lauded new advances in rapid testing as a boost to hold the games. He said Olympic participants would not be a priority for a vaccine ahead of “nurses and doctors and people who keep our society alive.” And he repeated several times that next year’s Olympics would be the “light at the end of this dark tunnel.”
Bach suggested the IOC would cover at least some of the costs of vaccination. But he said he did not yet know how much the one-year delay would cost. Reports in Japan estimate it will be $2 billion to $3 billion.
“This will take time,” he said. “It’s impossible now to have a sound figure.”
The most pointed question at a news conference with Bach went to Mori concerning a reported $1 million payment from the Tokyo bid committee — which landed the Olympics in 2013 — to the Jigoro Kano Memorial International Sports Institute. Mori heads the body.
Sitting next to Bach, Mori said he did now know about the body’s finances.
“That is not something that I directly oversee,” he replied.
French authorities have been investigating a bribery scandal linked to Tokyo’s winning bid. Last year, Japanese Olympic Committee president Tsunekazu Takeda was forced to resign after he acknowledged signing off on a $2 million payment to a consulting company based in Singapore. The consultant is believed to have channeled money to influence IOC votes.
Takeda denied any wrongdoing.
Monday was the first of two days of non-stop meetings for Bach in Tokyo; photo opportunities and meetings with politicians and organizers aimed at persuading a skeptical Japanese public that it’s safe to hold the Olympics during a pandemic.
The Olympics are scheduled to open on July 23, 2021, and Bach said he hoped to have a “reasonable number” of spectators at the venues. How many and from where is a decision that is still down the road.
A possible vaccine was announced last week by Pfizer Inc., which could greatly help the IOC and local organizers stage the Olympics. There have also been advances in rapid testing.
All of this is taking place as cases around the world surge heading into the Northern Hemisphere winter. Bach traveled to Tokyo on a chartered flight. He called off a trip last month to South Korea because of the virus’ spread in Europe.
Some athletes and fans from abroad may oppose any suggestion to take the vaccine, which Bach has hinted previously could be key for Olympic “solidarity.”
Japan has held baseball games recently with near-capacity crowds of 30,000 fans at some stadiums. It has also held an exhibition gymnastics meet with 22 athletes entering from abroad, attended by several thousand fans.
Japan has been largely spared during the pandemic with about 1,900 deaths attributed to COVID-19. It has also sealed off its borders until recently, and has almost 100% mask-wearing by the public.
Several polls have shown the Japanese public is ambivalent about the games, facing larger concerns like a slumping economy.
“Our determination is to realize the Tokyo Games next summer as proof that humanity has defeated the virus,” Suga said.
The Olympics and Paralympics involve 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes, and tens of thousands of coaches, officials, judges, VIPs, sponsors, media and broadcasters entering Japan.
The IOC gets 73% of its income from television, which is a critical factor in its drive to hold the Olympics. American network NBC pays well over $1 billion for every Olympics.
Costs are also an issue with the Japanese public. A government audit report last year said the bill for preparing the Olympics could reach $25 billion. All but $5.6 billion is public money.
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