2020 – Nok Nok, Tokyo: What amazed us on Friday

They are not all Olympic champions, but they are also writing the history of the Tokyo Olympics.

. Today’s story

“Yes, it is completely different from what we all imagined.” In short, and as a preamble to his speech, IOC President Thomas Bach summed up the general sentiment at the opening of this 32nd Olympic Games. Without an audience to celebrate, behind closed doors almost for all of the two sports weeks, these games will be pandemic games.

. Today’s face(s)

The athletes are finally reunited in Japan and set off on this unlikely adventure. They are 11,090, coming from all over the world (206 delegations) – and they will now compete for the 339 titles at stake to make people forget for a while the health context associated with Covid-19.

. unusual today

For two Japanese fans traveling the world to attend all the Olympics, attending those in Tokyo should have been a dedication. After they were denied a playground, they found other ways to celebrate. Kyoko Ishikawa, 51, has attended every Summer Games since the one in Barcelona in 1992. Far from dropping it, she found another way to cheer the athletes up, by singing and dancing in front of her TV, in his living room decorated with Olympic objects drawn from around the world. Kazunori Takeshima, 45, also believes in the unifying power of games. The wealthy businessman bought 197 tickets for the Tokyo Games, spending the equivalent of more than 30 thousand euros, hoping to benefit his family, friends and employees. At the opening ceremony, he went to the Olympic Stadium.

. Today’s performance

It’s the work of South Korean Ahn San, who on Friday set a new Olympic record during the shooting qualification, with 680 points (in 72 arrows). The previous record was set in 1996, during the Atlanta Games, with 673 points, by Ukrainian Lina Herasimenko.

. today’s picture

One thousand distinguished people were able to attend the cauldron fire performed by Naomi Osaka on Friday, thanks to the flame that lit up on March 12, 2020 in Olympia, Greece, which has since toured the world, in succession, to join the Olympic Stadium. It will shine until August 8 and the end of the games.