Home field advantage for Tokyo 2020

For any of the medalists at the Tokyo 2020 Games, their success will be attributed to how they revised their training schedule and utilized the extra 12 months under which the competition was postponed.

For the ten Sailing events, that would typically entail long days on Sagami Bay while adapting to the surrounding culture of Enoshima. Unlike sports held in arenas or pools, where standards keep the field of play consistent from site to site, sailors need to sail at the venue to prepare.

But at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, no one knows when that can occur. For these Games, home field advantage may get redefined.

Since February, Japan has been strengthening travel restrictions for inbound visitors as part of its border control measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

Japan added another 18 countries, including Algeria, Cuba and Iraq, to its entry ban list last week, raising the total number of countries and regions subject to the measure to 129.

However, Japan will consider easing travel restrictions for athletes from abroad for next year’s Tokyo Olympics as the government recognized the need to put in place a system that will allow athletes and related parties to enter Japan in case the virus situation prevents the government from lifting the entry ban on certain countries and regions, reports Kyodo News.

But the subject is not planned for discussion until perhaps in September, and it is suspected that athletes and officials will likely be required to prove they are not infected with the virus by taking the polymerase chain reaction test several times, including before and after traveling to Japan.

The Tokyo Games were originally set for this summer but were postponed in March due to the pandemic. The Olympics were expected to feature about 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries and regions, with the games’ organizing committee indicating it has no plans to scale down the competitions.

Tokyo Olympic Sailing Program
Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser
Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial
Men’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
Women’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
Men’s Skiff – 49er
Women’s Skiff – 49erFx
Men’s One Person Dinghy Heavy – Finn
Men’s Windsurfing – RS:X
Women’s Windsurfing – RS:X
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17

Original dates: July 24 to August 9, 2020
Revised dates: July 23 to August 8, 2021

Details: https://tokyo2020.org/en/games/schedule/olympic/