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      Team GB athletes face being kicked out of Tokyo Olympics if they catch Covid in Japan as chiefs try to avoid outbreak

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      TEAM GB stars who catch Covid-19 in Tokyo will be kicked out of the Olympics.
      In the newly-published IOC and IPC Playbook for Athletes and Officials – available to read on the insidethegames website – there will be a number of counter-measures in place to avoid any potential coronavirus outbreaks this summer.

      Tokyo 2020 officials are setting out strict measures for the summer’s GamesCredit: EPA

      If anyone provides a confirmed positive test during the Games, they should ‘immediately begin isolating’ and inform their designated Covid-19 Liaison Officer.
      Infected individuals will ‘either be required to continue isolating or be hospitalised’ and more significantly, they ‘will not be allowed to compete’.
      Depending on the symptoms displayed, the location of any isolation period could be a ‘government-approved isolation facility’ not the Athletes’ Village.
      Anyone deemed to be a ‘close contact’ of a positive case will be retested.

      All the athletes will be tested at least every four days during their stay at the Games.
      They must monitor their daily health and record their temperature for 14 days before travelling to Japan this summer.
      They must also prepare a list of all the people they expect to have close contact with – for example, room-mates, coaches, physiotherapists or immediate team members.
      Contact with others must be kept to a minimum and using public transport is forbidden.

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      As reported earlier this week, Olympians must ‘avoid shouting, cheering and singing’ and will be encouraged to clap their compatriots instead.
      This would suggest that singing the national anthem would be banned but the organising committee refused to answer questions on this at a media briefing on Wednesday.
      Questions also need to be asked whether any athlete would be stripped of their accreditation if they celebrate against the rules in the venues.
      Gyms, tourist areas, shops, restaurants or bars are all banned to avoid the spread of the killer virus.

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      Tokyo Olympics anti-Covid rules revealed with handshakes and hugging BANNED and orders not to SING in crackdown

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      SINGING, chanting, hugging and high-fiving will be BANNED from the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to avoid the spread of Covid-19.
      The IOC, IPC and the Organising Committee are releasing a series of ‘Playbooks’ containing important dos and don’ts for this summer’s Games.

      Scenes like Jason Kenny and Laura Trott kissing could be banned in TokyoCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      And anybody flouting the general health and safety rules will be chucked out.
      In the first Playbook – which targets International Federation delegates, medical staff and officials – there are a series of coronavirus countermeasures that must be observed.
      It is understood the many principles will form the “framework” of the books sent to Team GB athletes shortly.
      In the first Playbook, it says:

      + Support athletes by clapping and not singing or chanting
      + Avoid unnecessary forms of physical contact such as hugs, high-fives and handshakes
      + Keep physical interactions with others to a minimum
      + Keep two metres distance from athletes and at least one metre from others, including in operational spaces

      + Use Games transport systems. Do not use public transport unless given permission
      + Wear a face mask at all times, unless outside and two metres away from others
      + Avoid enclosed spaces and crowds where possible
      + Do not visit tourist areas, shops, restaurants or bars, gyms etc
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      It is unknown if fans will be told to remain silent in venues – unless it is decided in April that it will become a behind-closed-doors event.
      A test, trace and isolate smartphone app will be in operation and everybody must monitor their health daily for 14 days before travelling to Japan.
      Everyone must undergo a PRC nose and throat test within 72 hours of flying and will be tested upon arrival in the Japanese capital.
      Anyone who tests positive must “immediately begin self-isolation in line with local rules”.
      Athletes will soon learn more about their stay in the Olympic and Paralympic village but they have already been told long-time post-event partying and sight-seeing will not be permitted.
      Team GB stars and staff will have restrictions “on socialising outside the Village” and “their movement between official Games venues”.
      Vaccinations are not mandatory and the rules will apply whether or not someone has had the jab.
      Covid-19 Liaison Officers will record symptoms, test results and monitor those who flout the rules.
      Anybody that does so repeatedly or in a serious nature will be chucked out and have their accreditation revoked.
      IOC President Thomas Bach admitted last week for the first time he is uncertain whether crowds can attend venues due to the global Covid-19 crisis.
      A decision on whether it will be a behind-closed-doors Olympic and Paralympic Games is expected to be made by April.

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      Team GB hero and Olympic hopeful Dina Asher-Smith reveals she has been seeing psychologist since start of Covid pandemic

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      DINA ASHER-SMITH revealed she has been seeing a psychologist since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
      Britain’s fastest woman’s dreams of Olympic glory last summer were thrown upside down with Tokyo 2020 delayed a year.

      Dina Asher-Smith turned to a psychologist at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemicCredit: Carla Guler / Women’s Health UK

      Britain’s speed queen wants to be in the best place mentally to compete at the top levelCredit: EPA

      But she refused to let the scuppered plans cripple her years at the top of world athletics.
      And so the Londoner, 25, immediately took the step of turning to an in-house psychologist at British Athletics to keep her mentally on track.
      Speaking to Women’s Health, Asher-Smith revealed: “When the pandemic hit, it was like, ‘Right, okay, let’s make sure my brain’s okay.’
      “The first thing I did was to get a psychologist because I’ve worked too hard for too long to have something like a pandemic ruin the next few years for me.

      “We’ve got five years on the go, which in track and field we have never seen before.
      “And the only way you can put your best foot forward is by being in the right frame of mind.”
      Asher-Smith broke her own British records for the 100m and 200m at 2019’s World Championships in Doha to win silver and gold respectively.
      She was also part of Team GB’s 4x100m relay team that managed a national-best 41.77s lap to claim bronze at Rio 2016.

      And it is that level of unparalleled ability that has seen her thrown into the British public’s conscience – not that she would have chosen to be such a famous figure.
      Asher-Smith added: “Believe it or not, when I was at school I was quite shy. But, obviously, you realise that being shy, unfortunately, is incompatible with being a high-profile sportsperson.
      “People will take your shyness as either you’re trying to hide something, or you’re being mean, or being cold – and you just have to come out of your shell.”
      That shyness could easily have seen Asher-Smith drop out of sport participation, as it does for a large group of girls as they hit their early teens.
      The Orpington sprint queen is not surprised, though.
      Many do not have the role models to inspire them and are made to feel as though a career as a sportswoman is not a plausible avenue.
      Thankfully for Asher-Smith, the Williams sisters helped transform that misconception for her – as they have done for the new generation of tennis stars.
      The athletics ace – who will be hoping of bringing home golds from next month’s European Indoors in Poland – said: “There’s a big drop off of girls who do sport when they’re about 13 to 15 or around that age, and everybody seems to be confused as to why.

      Girls see the ideal of femininity projected to them and, as a young sportswoman, you look and think, ‘So, am I opposite to that?’
      Dina Asher-Smith

      “To me, it’s perfectly clear. I think at that age, when people become more aware of their surroundings and people start to look for who they are, what it means to be a woman, sport isn’t in that picture.
      “They see the ideal of femininity projected to them and, as a young sportswoman, you look and think, ‘So, am I opposite to that?’
      “You have to show that being a career sportswoman is viable, is celebrated, is positive, it doesn’t come with stereotypes, it doesn’t come with boxes that you have to fit and that it’s not at odds with being a woman.
      “When Serena and Venus were the only two black women in tennis all that time ago, they were able to be pioneers.
      “But now you’ve got Naomi Osaka, you’ve got Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens.
      “You’ve got so many black girls because the Williams sisters have shown, yes, this is a sport they can play at the highest level.”

      Asher-Smith is preparing for this summer’s rearranged Olympic Games in TokyoCredit: Carla Guler / Women’s Health UK

      The Londoner recognises why so many girls drop out of sport at an early ageCredit: Carla Guler / Women’s Health UK

      She was speaking to Women’s Health magazine for their March editionCredit: Carla Guler / Women’s Health UK

      Asher-Smith won three medals at the 2019 World Championships including the 200m goldCredit: AFP or licensors

      Venus and Serena Williams have helped pave the way for black girls to dream of making a career in sportCredit: Getty Images – Getty

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      Team GB stars will NOT have to quarantine for Olympics Games but sightseeing around Tokyo will be banned

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      TEAM GB stars won’t have to quarantine before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics – but city sightseeing will be forbidden.
      A 20-page athletes playbook will be published next month detailing all the info for this summer’s rescheduled Games.

      Team GB will not have to quarantine before the Tokyo Olympics but will be barred from sightseeingCredit: AFP

      According to IOC Vice President John Coates, Olympians will be tested for Covid-19 72 hours before arriving into Japan and routinely in the Athletes Village.
      But their movement will be confined solely to competition and training.
      Going outside of the bubble to visit Tokyo hotspots will not be allowed.
      It was thought that stars may have to observe a two-week quarantine hotel period like tennis players have done for the Australian Open.

      But that concept has been dismissed by one of the senior figures involved in the organisation.
      Australian Coates, 70, said: “We will release next week a series of playbooks, which will give instructions on what’s required from them before they go to the Games.
      “They must undertake saliva and nose testing within 72 hours of travelling to Tokyo, like we have now introduced in Australia.
      “They will be tested on arrival. Then they will be tested if they continue to be negative every four days.

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      “No quarantine. It’s isolation – they will be limited just to the Olympic Village and the transport to their venue for competition and training.
      “That’s it. No going downtown. Lockdown but not into a hotel.”
      The prospect of a behind-closed-doors Olympic and Paralympic Games has been mooted by IOC boss Thomas Bach but the deadline for that is March or April.
      Coates added: “A decision will be taken on venues. We have to look at the capacity and what the situation is.
      “It may be that there will not be foreign spectators. We should leave those decisions as late as possible.”

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      London Marathon planning for world-record 100,000 runners in October – with half of racers taking part ‘virtually’

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      LONDON MARATHON bosses plan to smash the world record for the biggest event of its kind – with 100,000 runners on Sunday October 3.
      A record 50,000 participants will be able to take part in the rescheduled race later this year from Blackheath to The Mall.

      Runners head towards the finish of the 2019 London MarathonCredit: Reuters

      On the same day, there will be 50,000 entries open for those willing to race in the ‘virtual’ London Marathon.
      Runners will be expected to cover 26.2 miles in a location of their choosing but must complete the distance within that calendar day.
      Organisers hope this will help swell charity coffers which were significantly affected by the cancellation of the 2020 race due to the Covid-19 crisis.
      Hugh Brasher, London Marathon Event Director, said: “With a national vaccination programme underway, we hope to see an unprecedented 100,000 people take part.

      “The London Marathon is a wonderful example of sport as a force for good while raising millions for charity.
      “It’s all about communities and people coming together and one of our founding pillars is to have fun and provide some happiness and a sense of achievement in a troubled world.

      Shura Kitata of Ethiopia, left, won the men’s elite event last yearCredit: EPA

      Kenya’s Brigid Kosel was the first woman home last yearCredit: Getty – Pool

      “The world record-breaking success of the virtual event in 2020 and the incredible stories from participants across the globe showed how the world’s greatest marathon brought light and hope in the darkness of the pandemic.
      “We want to offer that again and we have also accelerated the plans we have been working on for some years to increase the number of finishers on the streets of London to 50,000.

      “People can run wherever they are in the world, they can run for charity, they can run for their mental or physical health, or run for the sheer enjoyment of it. Whatever the reason, they will be part of a unique day.”
      The elite events were run last year, with Shura Kitata of Ethiopia winning the men’s race and Kenya’s Brigid Kosel the first woman home.

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      Lloyd Cowan dead at 58: Jessica Ennis-Hill and Team GB stars pay tribute to highly-respected athletics coach

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      TOP British track-and-field stars paid tribute to respected athletics coach Lloyd Cowan, who has died aged 58.
      Cowan represented England in the 110m hurdles at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria before turning to full-time coaching.

      NINTCHDBPICT000630022437Credit: Getty Images – Getty

      Significantly, he helped Christine Ohuruogu, 36, to the Olympic 400m title in Beijing in 2008, silver four years later at the London 2012 Games and two world titles.
      Britain’s former Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie said: “The world of track lost another family member and it hurts more than I could have ever imagined.
      “RIP Lloyd Cowan – the space you left cannot be filled. My condolences to all who knew and loved you.”
      Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill said she was “absolutely gutted”.

      Ennis added: “I’ve so many great memories of spending time with Lloyd on training camps.
      “He always believed in me and gave me some great advice and coaching tips along the way in the hurdles.
      “Pure passion in what he did.”

      Andy Turner, who won Commonwealth and European 110m hurdles titles under Cowan, said: “Heartbroken, absolutely heartbroken to hear that my coach has passed away.

      “Twelve good years with this man, I owe him everything.”
      A UK Athletics statement said: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Lloyd Cowan.
      “Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”

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      Danny Mills’ Olympic hopeful son George discusses choosing track over football field after becoming national 1500m champ

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      GEORGE MILLS is one of Britain’s most exciting young athletes and was crowned 1500m national champion last September in Manchester.
      His father is Danny Mills, the former Leeds and Man City defender, who appeared for England at the 2002 World Cup finals.

      SunSport talks to George Mills, one of the country’s most exciting young athletesCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      His dad is ex-England, Man City and Leeds star Danny Mills

      SunSport’s ROB MAUL spoke with the father and son about athletics, football and life lessons.
      Maul: George, given your dad was a famous footballer, was there an expectation you’d follow him?
      George: I grew up playing football like most kids. But there was never any pressure. If you ask me now, it’d be amazing to be a footballer but that’s not how life turns out. I won a couple of cross-country races for my school when I was 12-13. When I made the English schools teams, running snowballed from there.
      Danny: George was born in Essex in May 1999 but at three weeks old, my wife and I moved to Yorkshire when I signed for Leeds from Charlton. I’ve a daughter Mya (19), who is studying English Language at Uni, a son Stan (17), who is an Everton full-time scholar, and my youngest is Spike (15).

      Maul: Danny, at what age did George start to beat you in races?
      Danny: I’ve always been a keen runner. But it was about four years ago, when I was doing my first London Marathon for the Bobby Moore Fund. George was about 15 and I couldn’t keep up. I didn’t take that well in the slightest.
      George: He never let me win anything.
      Danny: For many years, that last 50m before getting back to the house, I’d suddenly put a sprint in, say I won and dip at the line! Sadly those days are long gone. I never let my kids win. I didn’t believe in that. Genetically my kids are all fit. But you can have as much talent as you like, the one thing you can’t teach is work ethic.

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      George is the 1500m national champion after success in ManchesterCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      Dad Danny is extremely proud of his son’s progress in the sport

      Maul: Has that tough love hardened George up?
      Danny: There were a couple of races early in his career where, like most young men, they get carried away, the ego and testosterone kick in. I gave him super tough love. I told him: ‘You didn’t do what your coach told you, you didn’t execute the plan, you’ve messed it up.’ Yes, you put the phone down and wonder: Have I been too harsh? Have I been OTT? So when he won the 2020 British trials, there was relief. Hallelujah, finally the penny had dropped.
      George: Winning that race was an amazing feeling. But strange because there was nobody there to share it with. It was a different experience but those are the times we are in.
      Maul: Tell me about the ‘Mills Mentality’?
      George: My best mate came up with that slogan. It’s all about giving your all, day-in, day-out, overcoming obstacles, being resilient and hard-working.
      Danny: If you’re going to do it – do it properly. Or don’t bother. I’ve a T-shirt on the wall that says: Play hard or get off the field. If you don’t you’ll never know how good you are. The mind gives up before the body.

      George and Danny are dreaming of an Olympics appearance for Great Britain

      There’s still a long road ahead but George is running on the right trackCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Maul: George, tell me about the injuries you have had.
      George: In April 2017 I got a stress fracture on my right tibia. November 2017 it was a stress fracture on my lower back. Then I had a grade three hamstring tear in May 2018 in the right leg. So, I didn’t race for two years. Sport is about dealing with the highs and lows.
      Danny: Sport is cruel at times. If you don’t win sometimes, it’s a big disappointment and that takes a lot of managing.
      Maul: George, are you hopeful of qualifying for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics?
      George: I still see it as a long shot. There’s great competition in the UK within middle-distance running. You’ve guys like Jake Wightman and Charlie Grice, who’ve run 3:29/3:30. I still have to run the qualifying time. It’s all about continuing to improve. I’m based in Brighton and coached by Jon Bigg, whose wife is 1992 400m hurdles Olympic champion Sally Gunnell. I run past Steve Ovett’s statue down on the seafront most days!
      Danny: Even though the Olympics have been delayed, it is still a long shot. Athletes, especially 800m or 1500m runners, don’t really peak until 25, 26, 27 years old. So it’s an awfully long journey you have to go on and time well. But he’s just enjoying it.
      George Mills will receive support in 2021 from the British Athletics Olympic Futures Academy Programme

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      Tokyo Olympics chiefs want athletes to get vaccinated against coronavirus as priority to make sure games go ahead

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      INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee member Dick Pound has called for athletes competing in this year’s Tokyo games to be given early access to the coronavirus vaccine.
      The event was postponed by 12 months due to the pandemic, although there are growing concerns it could be delayed again due to a sharp increase in Covid cases in Japan.

      The 2020 Olympic Games will take place in Tokyo from July 23 until August 8Credit: AFP

      Dick Pound wants all athletes set to compete at the Olympic Games to be vaccinated as soon as possible Credit: christinne muschi

      And Pound reckons the best way for the Games – which are scheduled to get underway in July – to go ahead is for all participants to be vaccinated as soon as possible.
      The Canadian told Sky News: “In Canada where we might have 300 or 400 athletes – to take 300 or 400 vaccines out of several million in order to have Canada represented at an international event of this stature, character and level – I don’t think there would be any kind of a public outcry about that.
      “It’s a decision for each country to make and there will be people saying they are jumping the queue but I think that is the most realistic way of it going ahead.”
      Pound’s call for athletes to be immunised comes just a few weeks after IOC president Thomas Bach insisted athletes won’t be forced to take the vaccine.

      He said: “There are too many issues to consider. This is a question of private health.
      “It is a question also of (the) health conditions of each and every person. It’s a question of availability.”
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      British Olympic Association chief Andy Anson insists British athletes will only be given the vaccine when it’s appropriate for them to receive it.

      He told Sky: “They won’t get priority access now because I think everyone – athletes included – would agree that the priority is the people who need it most; the frontline workers, the elderly, those with health issues and that’s the first wave of vaccination.
      ‘There will come a time, hopefully in late spring/summer ahead of the Olympic Games when the athletes can be vaccinated.

      “But we’ll do that when it’s appropriate and when the government feels it’s appropriate.
      “We will encourage athletes that whenever possible they have the vaccination because it is better for their health, and it is also a demonstration of solidarity with their fellow athletes and also the Japanese people.”
      Although Japan has experienced a steep rise in Covid cases, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is confident the rescheduled games will go ahead as planned.
      He said: “This summer, we will hold the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, which are a symbol of world unity.
      “We will make steady preparations to realise a safe and secure event.”

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