Hit-run plan for Australia in Tokyo if no vaccine

Even if the Tokyo Olympics proceed next year – and IOC chief Thomas Bach has admitted to a sliver of doubt still – it is not certain that the Australian team will be there as one big happy family.

Team medical officer Dr David Hughes has raised the possibility of athletes and teams making hit-and-run missions to minimise human contact. This would also cast into doubt the joyful massing of athletes at opening and closing ceremonies which have become such a feature of modern Olympics.

Speaking to a Victoria University forum, Hughes said it was far from certain that a COVID-19 vaccine would be ready in time for Tokyo. "That means it will not be business as usual, and it will be a very different looking Olympics than before," he said.

"We would need to look at Olympics that minimise interaction between individuals. That might mean instead of teams going in en masse, we may look at staggered start and finish times, where individuals go in, compete and leave again, leaving a relatively small Australian footprint."

That would dampen the morale of the Australian team, which at around 850 athletes and officials will again be one of the larger contingents at the Games, and whose habit and tradition is present as a collective force.

"We would also need to look at what particular processes the Japanese government might put in place in terms of quarantine and testing," Hughes said.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, habits and traditions are falling by the wayside. "We have to see how adaptable sport can be in a new environment," said Hughes.

The world now is in a state unthinkable four months ago, so who can say how it will be in four months time, let alone next year? "What we need to see in the next four months is how well the rest of the world brings their outbreaks under control," said Hughes, "because that will make the Olympics and Paralympics much more viable."