Thread by @opinion

Each Olympic Games serves as a global spotlight for athletes.

But in Tokyo next month, it will be doctors, nurses, lab technicians and other medical personnel who will determine the success of this international display of health and vigor trib.al/9iI5Jai

Despite increasing vaccinations against Covid-19, Japan lags well behind many rich-world peers.

If the Tokyo Olympics were to be canceled before the July 23 opening ceremony, the decision would have to be taken by the International Olympic Committee trib.al/xDdm5dU

The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association, which represents over 6,000 doctors, asked that the International Olympic Committee be convinced to cancel the games.

Hospitals “have their hands full and have almost no spare capacity,” it warned trib.al/xDdm5dU

Less-than-universal vaccination coverage and the inherently intimate nature of physical competition makes the spread of Covid in the games village likely.

An estimated 80,000 athletes and officials are still expected to pour into Tokyo trib.al/xDdm5dU

Sport is often seen as a unifier, and the Olympic opening ceremony is a global roll-call of nations.

After all the disruptions of last year, sport may be one of the easier “returns to normalcy” to deliver this summer trib.al/xDdm5dU

In Tokyo, spectator participation could be a major factor determining success, putting finances and public health at odds with each other.

Officials said each event would likely be limited to no more than 10,000 spectators trib.al/xDdm5dU

NBCUniversal predicts this could be the most profitable Olympics ever for the entertainment division of Comcast Corp.

But that calculation is at risk if the lack of raucous crowds at the first week’s swimming events result in TV audiences losing interest trib.al/xDdm5dU

The athletes will get to compete for their medals.

But given how little say they have in the running of this event, health care staff should be crowned the heroes trib.al/xDdm5dU