On Sunday, the IOC, which is the governing body of the national Olympic committees, said athletes are now able to take their masks off for 30 seconds on the podium during medal ceremonies for a photo opportunity. However, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said a daily briefing that celebratory hugs are not recommended.
“No, there is no relaxation,” Adams said when asked if there were any changes to the rules about hugging on the podium. “We urge and ask everyone to obey the rules, whatever stakeholder you are. It’s not a ‘nice to have’ — it is a must-have. It’s important, both for the sports and for everyone involved and, of course, for our Japanese partners and friends particularly.”
Adams continued, “It also sends a strong message so we would ask and urge people to please follow the playbooks. I think yesterday, [IOC Sports Director] Christophe Dubi put it very well. We understand, we’re all here, there is a lot excitement. And of course, when you win a medal … we feel for the athletes. There are things that, unfortunately, we have had to make [the rules] stricter.”
On Sunday, several Team USA swimmers were photographed briefly not wearing their face masks as they smiled with their various medals, including gold medalist Chase Kalisz.
“Ideally I will wear it as much as possible. If I had the mask off on the podium it was really because someone was holding a sign,” Kalisz said,ESPNreported. “I can’t speak for what the proper protocol was, but he had a sign on the podium that said ‘mask off, mask on,’ so that’s what we did.”
So far, at least 123 coronavirus cases tied to the Olympics have been reported and multiple American athleteshave been forced to withdrawfrom competition at the last minute because of an infection, including tennis playerCoco Gauff.
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
