Typhoon to hit Olympics

Jinxed Games to be lashed by 90kph tropical storm

FIRST came Covid, then the unbearable heat, and now an incoming typhoon could further batter Tokyo’s ‘cursed’ Olympics.

Forecasters fear that torrential rain and 90kph winds could hit Japan by Tuesday, leaving only the surfers happy. Meteorologist Jim Rouiller said: ‘That is really all they need. A tropical storm coming right towards Tokyo.’

Rowing competitions scheduled for tomorrow have been brought forward to today as Tropical Storm Nepartak bears down on Japan.

Surfing is making its debut appearance at the Games and large waves were forming yesterday at the competition site of Tsurigasaki Beach, 64km east of the capital. ‘There’s going to be good waves, there’s a strong typhoon here off the coast of Japan and we know that the waves are getting bigger,’ said International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguerre.

But the torrential rain could play havoc with other events, including the early stages of the dressage.

Organisers of the delayed 2020 Games had boasted that ‘with many days of mild and sunny weather, this period provides an ideal climate for athletes to perform at their best’. But it is not unusual for Tokyo summers to be very hot and humid, and in 2018 more than 1,000 people died in a heatwave. In 2019, the organisers moved many of the endurance events, including the marathon, 800km north of the capital, where the climate is cooler.

But last week a beach volleyball training session had to be postponed when players complained the sand was too hot for their bare feet. Yesterday, temperatures hit 34C with humidity up to 70%.

After the Games were delayed by a year due to Covid and there were issues over the price and design of the stadium, deputy prime minister and finance minister Taro Aso said they were ‘cursed’.

Polls suggest only 19% of Japanese people believe the event can be held safely in the pandemic.