Triathlon olympic games tokyo 20205/5/2023 ![]() Photo: Penta-Ocean Construction Co., Ltd. The barrier screens in the water prevent bacteria from entering the bay-and the swim venue. Sports that require wind and waves, like surfing and sailing, took their events to neighboring prefectures Chiba and Kanagawa, but short of traveling out to Tokyo’s distant southern islands there’s really no other choice for waterfront venues within the city. Air and water temperatures at that time of the year, though, are typically around 65 degrees F, a radically different situation from what athletes will face at the Olympic race this weekend. With exemptions for the special event, Odaiba has however been the site for the Japan Triathlon Championships every October since 2001. ![]() Normally, the water quality here is simply not deemed good enough for the general public to swim in. People fish, play beach volleyball, and enjoy water sports like standup paddleboarding and windsurfing, but things like swimming and diving that involve going directly in the water are strictly forbidden. Odaiba’s beach park was built in 1996, and the area is now a hub of shopping malls, luxury hotels, and high-rent high-rise apartment buildings. Its dates back to the Edo period in the mid-1800s, when the area was built up from reclaimed land in order to play home to a battery of cannons that were intended to prevent American Commodore Matthew Perry’s Black Ships from landing and to stop the U.S.’s attempts to force Japan to open to the West. Odaiba, the area hosting the Olympic triathlon, is a waterfront district in the innermost region of Tokyo Bay. The swim familiarization for the mixed relay was also canceled, but test results the next day returned values within the limit and the actual relay race went off as scheduled. Collins is a former pro on the ITU circuit and now a guide for a para athlete Aaron Scheidies. “It was bad,” said Ben Collins of the water at the time. The swim was canceled and the event was carried out as a duathlon. ![]() coli levels twice the allowable level set by World Triathlon. Shortly after, water quality tests before the paratriathlon test race recorded E. Two weeks before the triathlon test race, athletes competing in marathon swimming, held at the same location as the triathlon swim in Tokyo Bay’s Odaiba area, complained that the water smelled “like a toilet.” The question of water quality at the swim venue first came up at the 2019 test events. RELATED: On the Ground at the Games That Almost Didn’t Happen Now added to the bay are a number of one-of-a-kind systems, including a three-layer barrier to block bacteria from entering the swim area and generators to then stir up and cool down the water if it gets too hot. Hidden in the shadows of the pandemic and overlooked for a while now, another problem has suddenly risen to the surface again: that brownish water. Rainy season has broken just in time for the sun and a drier heat to welcome the Games, and down at the triathlon venue the heavy rains have left the water quality of Tokyo Bay a beer bottle transparent brown that smells of nothing but the sea. ![]() It’s still two days until the opening ceremonies and five until triathlon action gets underway, but the Olympic Village is starting to fill up, jets paint Tokyo’s noontime blue skies with interlocking white rings, and road closures snarl traffic for locals across the city. It’s the first day of competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games and in Fukushima the Japanese women have downed the Australians 8-1 in softball, a victory symbolic of the region’s recovery from the disasters eleven years ago. ![]() Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! ![]()
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