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The Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games are the first Games with numerical gender parity, with equal numbers of male and female athletes competing. Notably, during the Olympic Games, the proportion of coverage sportswomen receive in the media is significantly greater than outside of the Games, albeit considerably less than sportsmen. As such, the representations and framing of sportswomen during this period of increased visibility hold significant importance and influence. In this context, we examine the trends that have been previously identified in the representations of sportswomen in the sports media and explore the representations of three British sportswomen who represented Great Britain during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the British news media: Dina Asher-Smith (athletics), Helen Glover (rowing), and Bethany Shriever (BMX racing). Despite evidence of some progress in female Olympians' media representations, ambivalent narratives and gendered discursive journalistic practices are still prevalent in British news media. In light of these findings, we suggest ways that the journalists and media organizations can improve representations of sportswomen to facilitate progression towards gender equity in sports reporting at future Olympic Games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games had been postponed for a year due to the spread of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since the infection of athletes may spread COVID-19 all over the world, the medical care system focused on infection control in addition to regular medical care. This study reports on the implementation of ophthalmic medical services at the Athletes' Village General Clinic (hereinafter referred to as "Polyclinic") for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralym- pic Games. There were 697 patients during the Olympic Games, and 556 patients during the Paralympic Games. Visual acuity of patients at the Olympic and Paralympic Games was as follows: At the Olympic Games, 1/620 (0.2%) had a visual acuity of log MAR 1.0 (Snellen equivalent, 20/200) or worse; at the Paralympic Games the respective number of patients was 31/516 (6.0%). During the Olympic Games, there were seven patients who received treatment due to trauma. From the results of the questionnaire survey of volunteers who worked in Polyclinics, a handy slit and high/ low power eye glass lenses were necessary. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the eye care team -- consisting of ophthalmologists, certified orthoptists, and opticians -- were able to provide ophthalmic care efficiently amidst the COVID-19 pandemic [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore Chinese and U.S. athlete self-presentation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. By examining 1200 photographs posted by Olympians on social media, this study finds that (a) male athletes feature themselves in more revealing clothes than female athletes, (b) Chinese athletes actively show more nationalistic notions compared to their U.S. counterparts, and (c) U.S. female athletes are involved in more subordinating behaviors than Chinese female athletes. This study underlines how the intersection of gender, nationalism, and culture influences athlete social media self-presentation in the global pandemic context. Possible explanations and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of the International Olympic Committee's desire to rejuvenate its fan base and spark the interest of a new generation of spectators, the world witnessed the inclusion of action and adventure sports in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games. These sports included sport climbing, skate street, skate park, BMX park and surfing. Focusing specifically on the sport of surfing, this study aims to explore the expectations around its debut in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic programme, nurtured by people relevant to the surfing universe, such as athletes, managers and journalists. This is a descriptive and exploratory study that uses bibliographic and documentary analysis as methodological procedures, along with a semi-structured interview script for qualitative exploratory research, focused on the inclusion of surfing in the Olympic programme. Through the analysis of interview data combined with the information obtained through literature review, we conclude that the inclusion of surfing in the Olympic programme presents possibilities that go beyond rejuvenating its audience; it also has the potential to reaffirm Olympic values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to identify the fluctuation of national pride during the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. Previous research has found that hosting mega sporting events increases national pride. However, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games were held under a situation different than that considered by conventional research. The Tokyo Olympic Games faced opposition from public opinion due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research involved two surveys conducted before and after the Tokyo Olympic Games. The results showed that people's national pride increased. Furthermore, the impact of the Tokyo Olympic Games varied across individuals. Respondents who were anxious about COVID-19 experienced a smaller increase in national pride due to the event than those who were less anxious about COVID-19. This research concludes that hosting mega sporting events can increase national pride, but this effect is limited in the context of severe social issues. The limitations of this research and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skateboarding is an important part of twenty-first century culture and has considerable cultural, financial and entertainment value, as indicated by its recent incorporation in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. It is practised on human-made surfaces such as pavements and roads as well as on wooden ramps and within asphalt and concrete skateparks. Hundreds of examples of the latter were built worldwide during the skateboarding's "Second Wave" in the late 1970s-early 1980s, but nearly all were subsequently closed, infilled or destroyed. Very few original concrete parks of this key period survive and many are currently threatened with destruction. The historic status recently ascribed to two well-preserved examples in the UK and Australia underlines a need to assess the heritage value of the other remaining original skateparks, as well as to consider possible strategies for their protection and conservation. The present article tackles this poorly researched aspect of contemporary archaeology and heritage in detail for the first time, using selected examples of these unconventional historic structures from around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Each generation of modern society has lived in varying environments, and different reactions occur while viewing sports. This study compared and analyzed sports, sports attitudes, and positive psychological capital of two groups according to the presence or absence of medals in the event that most impressed them after watching the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In total, 328 survey responses were collected, and the differences between the groups were statistically verified using multivariate analysis of variance. The results showed that Group 1, which was impressed by a medal-winning event, had a relatively higher average value of self-efficacy than Group 2, which was impressed by an event in which a medal was not won. In contrast, Group 2 had a higher positive image and more resilience than did Group 1. In addition, different psychological attitudes were found in the results of factors (behavioral image, evaluative image, cognitive attitude, affective attitude, behavioral attitude, and optimism) that were not statistically significant in the differences between the groups compared to those of the previous generation. The results of this study can be used as meaningful data in sports viewing-related studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2021, American track and field phenom, Sha'Carri Richardson, seemed poised for Olympic Gold. However, her dreams were quashed after she tested positive for cannabis during the Olympic competition period-effectively disqualifying her from the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. The World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee outlawed the in-competition use of cannabis by Olympic athletes. These organizations justified the exclusion of cannabis on the dubious grounds that cannabis is performanceenhancing, presents an adverse health risk, and violates the spin of sport. This Article analyzes these organizations' codes and argues the articulated rationales are debatable and rely on faulty assumptions. Therefore, this Article suggests certain cannabis use should be permitted during the competition period of the Olympics or less restrictive sanctions should be imposed in keeping with several American sporting leagues' cannabis policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As students are establishing themselves in an increasingly visual culture, images should be harnessed as important pedagogical tools for applying concepts and increasing student engagement. When students are given opportunities to analyse images in the classroom context, they become more aware of the variety of visual texts, from advertisements to websites, that frequently command their attention. This single-class activity employs visual texts as a site of inquiry for critique and application of persuasive strategies in an undergraduate level classroom. It is designed to help students explore applications of the concepts of image-based advertising and syntactic indeterminacy through a critical analysis of art posters from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Students role-play 'becoming the judge' on the International Olympic Committee as they seek to select and provide rationale for the poster that best communicates the ideals of the Olympic Games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to ascertain the significance of the basketball game parameters which discriminated between winning and losing teams in matches played. The study sample comprises matches played at the men’s basketball tournament at the XXXII Olympic Games in Tokyo. Four regression models were formed. Due to the size of the sample, the number of explaining variables was reduced using factor analysis, followed by stepwise regression to ascertain the statistical significance of the obtained models summarily, which were then broken down into individual parameters. This study indicates: (1) one of the four set regression models was summarily highly statistically significant; (2) out of the remaining models, two were eliminated due to the presence of multicollinearity, and one model did not exhibit high statistical significance; (3) the final score was most influenced by the variables of two- and three-point shot percentages, number of three-point shots, turnovers, defensive rebounds, and true shooting percentage. The results of the study corroborated the results of other studies which were carried out in recent years, that the game of basketball is trending towards three-point shots and lay-ups, reduction of turnovers when passing, and defensive rebounds have been confirmed to be greatly significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Sina Weibo, as a high-frequency platform, has a wide range of topics and a large number of participants, and is the main channel for Internet users to obtain information. "People's Daily" is the media with high influence on social hot events in the wave microblog, from the opening day of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games to the end of the closing ceremony, among all the Olympic Games-related topics released by People's Daily, there were 343 topics with more than 50,000 likes, and 343 topics were used as hot topics for research. Among the 343 hot topics, 64 were table tennis-related topics, and table tennis was the sport with the highest attention among the hot topics. The social network method was used to quantify the People's Daily hot topics, establish a 2-mode network, study social actors as well as social structure from the perspective of relationships, and explain the structure of the 2-mode network and the influence of the macro-level structure on actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Games referred to as "Recovery Olympics" are supposed to encourage in recovery of the Tohoku regions affected by the 3.11 Great East Japan Earthquake. Tsukuba International Academy for Sport Studies established in 2015 as part of SPORT FOR TOMORROW initiative under Japan Sports Agency has since been holding Olympic education program every year at Rikuzentakata City, one of the disaster-affected areas. However, few studies have examined the contents of Olympic (or Paralympic) education in these areas. Therefore, this study shares knowledge through practice of Olympic education in a high school with an aim to suggest better practice in the area for its continuation post-2020. In 2019, an Olympic education class for 120 high school students was conducted followed by an open-ended questionnaire survey to the students. Questions consisted of: i) impressions of the class, ii) image of Tokyo 2020 Games, iii) current self-challenges and regional issues, and iv) how to use the Olympics. Text mining the obtained data revealed that respondents had a positive image of the Tokyo 2020 Games. Self-challenges and regional issues associated with reconstruction were clarified in answers to the survey, where some respondents revealed their future designs to contribute towards the development of local community. Some respondents also connected the class learning contents to providing solutions for local issues. Overall, the findings as discussed in this study were considered as useful knowledge for future practical Olympic education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted sport and events greatly with a shutdown of leagues and the postponement of events like the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. However, new media technologies, such as social media platforms, have provided an avenue for sport organisations and athletes to continue to engage with their consumers and promote physical activity during the absence of live sport. New media technologies allow organisations and individuals to share user-generated content and facilitate interactivity. This commentary intends to stimulate discussion, interest and research on whether social media could be used as a platform to inspire physical activity and sport participation and what strategies may be successful in engaging with consumers. Olympic sport and the campaigns National Olympic Committees have engaged in during lockdown are the focus of this piece. It is hoped that this piece provides a starting point for future research focusing on the adoption of new media technologies, like social media, to engage with and inspire people to become more active and involved in sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary serves to provide a rapid analysis of the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on sporting mass gatherings. The focus of this commentary surrounds sporting mass gatherings and strategies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, with a particular focus on the UEFA EURO 2020 competition. Further references to the 2020 Olympic Games, and community recreational football are made. The intention is to stimulate discussion, analysis, interest and research on what the initial impact of COVID-19 has on sport. COVID-19 could fundamentally change the way sport operates in the future and requires further analysis. We hope this commentary provides an interesting record and reference point for future research and practice of those operating in sporting organisations. Learning lesson from this crisis, must ensure sport managers and practitioners are better prepared in sport and society for similar events in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic of the COVID-19 has forced various sport organizations to postpone or cancel sport events. The current investigation provides a rapid analysis of public perceptions of (1) postponement and cancelation decisions made by sport organizations, and (2) whether the Tokyo Olympics 2020 should be held in July 2020. Data from Japanese citizens (n = 529) show that approximately 75% supported postponement decisions made by professional sport leagues. Surprisingly, only fewer than 50% supported the cancelation decision of the high school baseball tournament (i.e., Spring Koshien). Regarding the Tokyo Olympics, 35.2% disagreed with holding the games, which was almost identical to those who were in favour of holding it (35.3%). The government and decision-makers should recognize the potential biases in public opinions and prioritize the scientific evidence to protect the health of the community. (Note: The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics 2020 was postponed after the completion of this study). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role and significance of Olympic and Paralympic education has become increasingly evident in the activities of Olympic and Paralympic host cities. The development of Olympic and Paralympic education as a compulsory element has become a key policy aim for host cities and nations, with long-term planning and strategies needed for successful delivery. However, there remains a paucity of studies assessing the ways of planning and developing Olympic and Paralympic education mediated by contextual factors. Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic education has been implemented in schools nationwide as a national campaign and represents the first occasion in which Paralympic education is promoted in parallel with Olympic education. This study conducted a realist evaluation to analyse the history of education and sport policy in Japan, thus identifying contextual factors that informed planning and system development issues for school-based Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic education. This study suggests a methodological approach to identifying and evaluating contextual elements and mechanisms that are relevant in the development of Olympic and Paralympic education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the entire world plunged into the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokyo 2020 '+1' became a symbol of people passing through a dark tunnel into the light. If a historical period can be regarded as liminal, special attention must be paid to the thoughts and practices in this period. Based on previous liminality/liminoid research by Gennep and Turner, this study explored the behaviour and performance of five communitas – the IOC, the TOC, the Government of Japan, athletes, and Japanese people in the process of separation and tunnel crossing. (1) The separation state of the five communitas differs from the category included in previous theories. Liminoids may not necessarily have been designed in advance, but can also spontaneously arise as a force for changes in major events or disasters. (2) As a liminoid event, the tunnel functions as a liminal experience and exhibits a special ontological status and state of 'reinforced structure'. (3) The IOC may hold a special 'X + Tokyo2020' Olympics in the future to bring those involved out of the liminality. (4) The idea of a tunnel could help the Olympic Games or other sports events open up new ideas and form a creative mode of resistance to uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs that forthcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games was expected to bring long-lasting social, economic and cultural benefits to Japan by increase in international tourism. It is evident that due to Covid-19, residents of Tokyo are concerned about the staging of the Games as it had over 400,000 cases and almost 6,500 deaths to date. It is also stated that positive environmental impact due to COVID-19 will be the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Competition climbing was born in the years immediately after World War II in the former Soviet Union to revitalize the climbing community in this war-ravaged country. In a short time, it gained great popularity among climbers, and finding support from the authorities, it expanded the organizational structures and training system, becoming a sport discipline in the literal sense of the word. In the 1970s, the idea of competition based on rock climbing was introduced to the wider international community, initiating a process with its temporary culmination in the introduction of sport climbing to the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. The title 'via' means 'route' which, in climbing slang, describes the line that the climber takes from the wall's base to the crowning point, which is the top of the climbing wall or the belay/descent stance. Remaining in this symbolism, the debut of climbing to the most important sporting event in the world is the culmination of a particular process. Time will tell whether it is a 'final stance' (i.e. permanent presence in the Olympic programme) or just an episode in the relatively short but dynamic history of sport climbing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The postponed 2020 Tokyo summer Olympics will be the first Olympic games to officially use facial recognition technology as a security measure. The use of such advanced technology to protect the Olympics continues a trend of Olympic organizers employing the latest in technological advances. This trend started in the early 1980s and continues to the present day. The following paper identifies four thematic areas: military support, privacy, cybersecurity, and private company involvement to analyse how the initial use of technology as a security measure set precedents that last to the present day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This reflection explores the connection between art and the lived experience offering insight into the topic of phenomenology and visual culture through the work 'Flow Line' by Daijiro Ohara. Popular posters like this one, designed for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games can support learning in foundational art history courses. The poster design by Ohara is explored visually through formal analysis and thematically to highlight the way in which interpretation of the poster can be constructed using an important postmodern methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sports stadiums are a prime site for the deployment and development of facial recognition technology. They are being used to envision and model a spectator experience governed by the operation of automated surveillance and sensor-based monitoring systems, which promise greater security and enhanced consumption opportunities. This article draws on the planned but postponed rollout of NEC’s NeoFace identification system for the Tokyo Olympics to examine broader trends in the deployment of biometric monitoring systems. Drawing on existing and planned uses of these systems, we focus on the sports stadium as a site for considering how biometric surveillance is introduced, implemented, and normalized. The themes of convergence, preemption, and spatiality are central to the messages presented in the industry’s promotional materials, framing facial recognition technology as an essential component of the contemporary media-stadium. The immense popularity of mega-events and the pleasures of live sports erode the contestability of this framing, drawing attention away from the biases, inaccuracies, privacy concerns, and inequalities perpetuated by highly invasive systems that exercise social control in and beyond the stadium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With surfing debuting at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (postponed from summer 2020 due to the COVID 19 global pandemic) it is timely to consider surfing and the national identifications women in Ireland may have with this sport. As Lee Bush states, 'with so little scholarship on surfing women, descriptive studies are needed as a foundation for launching future interpretive and critical studies.' Twelve women who surf in Ireland spoke about the links their surfing may or may not have with their national identity. Previous academic inquiry on links between national identity and sport on the island of Ireland has almost exclusively focused on men's experiences of team sports and issues of 'Irishness'. 'Irishness' is globally recognised and stereotypically linked to traditional and indigenous Irish sports such as Gaelic football and a range of other cultural activities. Research into women's sport participation has largely been restricted to the study of soccer in the Republic of Ireland, and gendered evaluations of various lifestyle and health surveys. Katie Liston, a key researcher in sport and gender relations in Ireland, highlights that 'there seems to be an increasing diversity in the kinds of activities in which people participate in', and that there is a shift towards 'lifestyle' activities for adults as diversity increases in young people's participation in sports and leisure activities. Against the backdrop of Liston's work, this article delves deeper into data collected as part of a wider research project, discussing whether or not women who surf in Ireland do so as part of a process designed to construct and reflect their national. identities related to this arguably 'postmodern' 'lifestyle sport', in which Ireland will be represented on the Olympic stage for the first time in 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]