According to a report by Reuters, the organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games still face questions on sports such as judo, sailing and triathlon. It was noted by International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice President John Coates that, with just over two years to prepare, issues about water quality in particular remain unresolved,
Coates, who is also Chairman of the IOC’s Coordination Committee for the 2020 Tokyo Games, on Monday said Tokyo must answer tough questions from national Olympic committees or risk losing confidence in their ability to host the games.
He said, “I think the questions are going to increasingly come, particularly from the 206 national Olympic Committees who want to know about the best arrangements for their athletes.
“Triathlon was still concerned about water quality and we received a presentation about experiments that will take place this year and next year, better screening into the water and putting curtains,” he said. “We very pleased by the attention that’s being given to that.”
The Tokyo 2020 Games start on 24 July 2020. The organizers reported last October that tests showed levels of E. Coli up to 20 times above the accepted limit and faecal coliform bacteria seven times higher than agreed at the planned venue for marathon swimming and triathlon.
To deal with this, organizers have said they will install underwater screens at Odaiba Marine Park to limit the amount of bacteria flowing from offshore during rainy periods and have already conducted a number of tests.
