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Olympic athletes and officials ponder vaccine dilemma as Tokyo Games loom

teve Solomon, a 400-metre sprinter and co-captain of the Australian athletics team, has plenty to think about. The postponed 2020 Olympics are now just six months away and, barring a Covid-19 outbreak in Australia, Solomon will compete in the national championships in April before beginning final preparations for Tokyo. But there is one thing that the sprinter insists is not front of mind for him and his teammates: the coronavirus vaccine. "Everyone is just focused on making sure we are physically and mentally ready for the Games," he said. Solomon`s thoughts may be elsewhere, but plenty within the Olympic movement in Australia and overseas are pre-occupied with how the world`s biggest sporting event can take place safely in the midst of a pandemic. The Games are scheduled to begin on 23 July; the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government insist it will go ahead, despite a recent spike in cases in Tokyo. If the Olympics are to proceed, the vaccine offers a potential solution.
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Bibliographic Details
Subjects:
Notations:biological and medical sciences sport history and sport politics
Tagging:Coronavirus Impfung
Published in:The Guardian
Language:English
Published: 2021
Online Access:https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jan/21/olympic-athletes-and-officials-ponder-vaccine-dilemma-as-tokyo-games-loom
Issue:20 Jan 2021
Document types:article
Level:advanced