Thread by @Reuters

First his torch relay was canceled because of COVID-19 fears.

Then spectators were banned from the Games’ first-ever surfing competition.

Now Ted Adegawa and the surfing town he helped build symbolize the disappointment that characterize #Tokyo2020 reut.rs/3iyZvLy 1/7

Adegawa is renowned in Japan as one of the nation’s surfing pioneers.

He has sponsored Japan’s first surf team, organized its inaugural competition and introduced international surfers to the country’s unique surf culture 2/7

Laying out dozens of old photographs, Adegawa recalls how he traveled to California as a college junior with only vague ideas of what the U.S. would be like.

That’s where he discovered surfing 3/7

In the decade since Japan was selected to host the 2020 Olympics, the event has been dogged by a near-constant churn of scandal 4/7

Far from the Olympic ideal of bringing people together, the run-up to #Tokyo2020 has been marked by events hidden from public view.

Now, spectators are barred from most Olympic events, including the surfing competition 5/7

The Japanese public, the majority of whom have long opposed hosting the Games during a pandemic, now faces a truly surreal prospect: cheering for the world’s largest sporting event from home as the country remains under virus restrictions 6/7

As Japan trudges toward an unprecedented Olympic Games, read the story of one of the godfathers of modern Japanese surf culture and the leadup to #Tokyo2020 reut.rs/3rrLx2m by @saitomri @sakmurak 7/7