The first event of the Tokyo Olympics has been postponed because of travel restrictions in Japan, the event’s organizers said on Thursday. Japan is currently in a state of emergency until at least February 7 following rising cases of the coronavirus.
The artistic swimming event was scheduled to take place from March 4-7 in Tokyo, but is now postponed to May. The organizers said the decision was taken to ensure the “fairest possible conditions for athletes to participate.”
They added that other qualifying events such as a Diving World Cup in April and marathon swimming in May were on schedule. Public support for the Olympics is low, with 80% of Japanese saying they either thought the Games would not or should not go ahead as currently planned in a recent poll.