Novak Djokovic has been burned by high expectations at the Olympics before, so it was little surprise that he should express only guarded optimism on the eve of the Tokyo Games.
The Serbian, who has won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon already in 2021, is chasing the gold medal that would leave him one step away from the first tennis calendar 'Golden Slam' by a man.
Should he triumph in Japan over the next fortnight, Djokovic will head to the US Open in late August needing to win in New York to complete the full set.
Steffi Graf, who in 1988 won all the slams and gold at the Seoul Olympics, is the only player in tennis history to have completed such a sensational season.
Djokovic said such a feat was becoming a "more and more realistic" target, as he spoke in a Serbia team news conference, but the last time he stepped off the singles court at an Olympic Games, he was in tears, having lost in the first round at Rio to Juan Martin del Potro.
There is no danger of Djokovic running into his Olympic nemesis in Tokyo, with Del Potro, who also beat Djokovic in a bronze-medal match at the London 2012 Olympics, not a part of Argentina's squad as he battles back from four knee operations.
Looking at his own prospects for Tokyo and the rest of the year, Djokovic said: "It is still a long way to go ... I put myself in a very good position. But I will take things very slowly and cautiously.
"It's an approach I need to have because in the past I wasn't probably fully experienced in that approach. And I started to feel there were a lot of distractions around that influenced my performance.
"I know there are a lot of things on the line, a lot of history on the line. I'm privileged to be in this position. I worked very hard to be here, with my team, of course. But let's talk about history if everything goes great."
After his singles loss in Rio, Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic lost in the second round of doubles to Brazilians Bruno Soares and Marcelo Melo.
A bronze from Beijing 2008 is all Djokovic has to show for his Olympics career to date, but he is a hot favourite for the title in Tokyo, where he will start against Bolivia's world number 139 Hugo Dellien.
The 34-year-old Djokovic said he "would be delighted to ask" Graf how she achieved her 1988 clean sweep.
"When I was thinking about her ultimate achievement ... I did not think it... I don't want to say 'achievable', but [I thought] there was a slim chance that someone could make it again, both male and female," Djokovic said.
"But right now it seems more and more realistic. Of course, it is one of my goals and dreams."
Djokovic has neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal as rivals in Tokyo, with Federer missing after reporting a knee injury setback and Nadal electing to give the event a miss.
The 'Big Three' each have 20 grand slam titles now, following Djokovic's hot streak, and the Serbian admits it is unusual for both superstars to be absent.
"I have not experienced too many big tournaments in the past 15 years without Roger and Rafa playing. So it's a little bit strange," Djokovic said. "I'm used to seeing at least one of them. But still, some of the best players in the world are here.
"The guys who are in the top six, seven in the world, they are the biggest competitors or candidates for winning a medal. But potentially I am meeting with them in the later rounds."
After winning Wimbledon for a sixth time, Djokovic surprised many by claiming he could skip the Olympics, but he was reeled in by the appeal of representing his country, perhaps for the final time in the Games.
"Without the key element of any sports events – the crowds, the fans, that energy – it's different, but it is still the Olympic Games," he said.
"I was in a dilemma for a little bit, but I decided to come, and I'm glad because there are many more things that are beautiful about the Olympic Games. So I will try to focus on those things."
Andy Murray feels claiming an Olympic medal at Tokyo 2020 would be the greatest achievement of his illustrious tennis career.
Set to take part in his fourth Games as he looks to defend the singles title he won at London 2012 and successfully retained at Rio 2016, Murray knows this tournament is likely to be his last at the Olympics.
A creditable and entertaining run to the third round of Wimbledon came amid questions over his long-term future in the game after several years of injury woe.
After losing to Denis Shapovalov at the All England Club, Murray has been drawn to play against another Canadian, Felix Auger-Aliassime, in Tokyo.
He will also play in the men’s doubles alongside Joe Salisbury, with a tough draw in that competition too against Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.
Despite having three grand slam wins, two Olympic titles and a doubles silver medal to his name, Murray believes a podium place in Japan – which he feels is possible – would be a crowning achievement after all he has been through.
"That is the goal, to try and win another medal," Murray told reporters. "I'm aware that it is not going to be easy.
"I'm also in a slightly different position to what I was four, five years ago when I would’ve been expected to get one.
"Maybe that is not the case this time around, but for me, it would probably be my best achievement if I could do that after everything that’s gone on the last few years.
"I'm motivated for that reason alone and I still believe that I can do that. I still believe that it is possible."
Now 34, it is by no means certain Murray will still be playing and competitive on the ATP Tour by the time the 2024 Olympics take place in Paris.
"I know that this could be the last [Olympics] for me," added the Briton.
"So I want to go out there and leave everything out on the court, fight for every single point because ultimately that’s all you can do."
Having beaten Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro in his two Olympic finals, Murray – who revealed he has practiced well and regularly since Wimbledon - hopes his experience of going all the way at the Games will work in his favour.
He added to BBC Sport: "I've prepared as best as I can. I have tough draws in singles and doubles but I think I have a chance.
"If I can get through a round or two I'll start to feel more comfortable. I also have the experience of playing in the Olympics, which I can use to my advantage."
Having taken a five-month break in January, Tom Dumoulin cannot wait to get back into cycling action for the Netherlands as he lines up as one of the favourites in Tokyo.
Dumoulin took an indefinite break from cycling at the start of 2021 to understand his motivations for the sport, but the three-time Tour de France stage winner returned in June and will represent his country at the Games.
Usually a time-trial specialist, Dumoulin will compete in the combined road race and time trial as he looks to become only the second cyclist to win both events at a single Games.
The only cyclist to achieve this feat before is Dumoulin's compatriot Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel, who won both events at the Olympic Games Sydney 2000.
"I'm glad to be back. I had a couple of good weeks in June and the condition improved gradually. The most important thing is that I had fun on the bike again, and I took pleasure in working towards a goal again," the 2017 Giro d'Italia general classification winner said.
"I really want to go for it in the road race. It's a super-beautiful course and the heat normally suits me. I mainly prepared for the time trial, because that's my main goal, but that full gas on Saturday does not have to affect my [performance in the] time trial on Wednesday."
The Netherlands and Italy have won a joint-record nine cycling gold medals at the Games and Dumoulin believes he and his team-mates have another good chance of success on Saturday.
"We have Bauke Mollema as target man and that's logic. We have got a strong team, but not really a team to control the race.
"Dylan Van Baarle, Wilco Kelderman and me, we have free roles and the three of us hope to go a long way, but we will support Bauke wherever necessary.
"Yoeri Havik who combines the road race with track cycling [at Tokyo 2020], joins us to support the team in the first 100 kilometres."
Steve Kerr says losing Bradley Beal is a devastating blow, but the United States assistant coach is delighted to have "breathtaking" Kevin Durant to call upon at the Tokyo Olympics.
Washington Wizards guard Beal was last week forced to withdraw from the Games through health and safety protocols.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love also pulled out due to injury and fitness concerns, with Keldon Johnson and JaVale McGee called up as replacements.
It has hardly been the ideal build-up to the men's basketball competition for the USA, but Kerr feels particular sympathy for Beal due to the circumstances surrounding his withdrawal.
"We all feel terribly for Bradley, who was having a great camp and was so looking forward to playing in the Olympics," Kerr said at a news conference on Thursday.
"To then have that opportunity taken away – it's devastating. But it's 2021, we're all sort of used to this by now. You just have to keep pushing forward.
"We've all been through [the effects of coronavirus and protocols] in the NBA season. You just kind of roll with the punches. More than anything, you just cross your fingers and hope that everybody is testing negatively and being able to play."
Despite the disruption, the USA will head into the competition as strong favourites as they look to win gold for a seventh time in their most recent eight attempts.
Durant was part of the victorious teams in 2012 and 2016 and this year averaged 26.9 points per game in the regular NBA season and 34.3 in the postseason.
He will have a big part to play if Team USA are to retain their crown and Kerr has no concerns about the 32-year-old stepping up in Tokyo.
"I just think Kevin is one of the most skilled basketball players in the history of the game," Kerr said.
"It's amazing to watch him at 6ft 11in, to see his fluidity on the floor, his footwork, the extension on his jump shot – it's almost impossible to challenge his shot.
"He's a breathtaking player and that translates to any basketball – NBA, FIBA – it doesn't matter, his game is gonna translate."
As well as losing some key players ahead of the tournament, USA also suffered defeats to Nigeria and Australia in exhibition games before beating Spain in their final warm-up.
First up at Tokyo 2020 for the competition's most successful ever side is a Sunday showdown with France in what will be the first meeting between the sides since the latter prevailed 89-79 in the quarter-finals of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
"We know the team well, they haven't changed much in that time," Kerr said. "They have all the same guys with Evan Fournier, Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Nando de Colo and others.
"One of the interesting things about international basketball is that our team changes every year, and the teams we play against stay the same. And the big challenge is that they have a lot of continuity.
"We know the team we played against two summers ago, we know them pretty well, and we're hoping that experience can can help us this time around."
The USA also face Iran and the Czech Republic in the preliminary group phase, with each game being staged in Saitama.
Graham Arnold revealed he had "visualised" Australia's impressive 2-0 win over Argentina in their Olympics opener – and said keeping Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona out of conversations was all-important.
Australia head coach Arnold saw his Olyroos team strike a major victory for the underdog with their Tokyo 2020 success in Sapporo, where goals from Lachlan Wales and Marco Tilio did the damage.
Although the Argentina team this year does not carry the same star quality as the 2004 and 2008 sides that featured Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi respectively, the South Americans were expected to be on a high after their senior side lifted the Copa America trophy earlier this month.
Arnold's Australian troops were highly impressive in the Group C tussle, however, even though their coach still saw room for improvement.
"Nobody would have given us a chance apart from us. I've been visualising this performance for the last couple of weeks, I even visualised the score," Graham said.
"I believe in these boys and I believe so much in them that I'm not happy with our overall performance. I was happy with the work rate, the energy, but at times we turned over the ball too simply and too easily. We need to improve as we go on, and we will."
Arnold pointed to Australia having only one previous Olympic men's football win in the 2000s, a 5-1 win over Serbia and Montenegro in 2004 at the Athens Games.
"It's a great win, but we've done nothing yet. It's three points, we're off to a great start, the first win, but the important thing is improvement," the coach added.
"We didn't mention the name of the opposition, it's all about us. Sometimes when you mention a nation like Argentina's name, everyone just starts thinking of the players, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Copa America champions.
"It was more about focusing on ourselves for the last week and making sure all the players knew their roles, their jobs and building a lot of belief in the players that we could go out there and put in a good performance and win the game."
He vowed Australia were "here to compete for a gold medal" and offered up the victory to those locked down in Australia during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
"It was probably the last thing I mentioned to the players before they went on the pitch," he said. "Australia, New South Wales in particular, is going through a very tough time at the moment with COVID, with lockdown and I just said to the boys, 'A lot of families are locked down at home, let's put a smile on a lot of Australian faces tonight, give them a performance they will remember'.
"I really expect that a lot of people back at home who didn't give us much chance of winning before really enjoyed that. I expect we put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces ... for tonight anyway."
Atletico Madrid supporters will not forgive Antoine Griezmann for his move to Barcelona in 2019 even if he was to return to Los Colchoneros, according to the Spanish champions' president Enrique Cerezo.
Griezmann has been linked with a move back to Atletico during the current transfer window as part of a swap deal that would see Saul Niguez head the opposite way to Camp Nou.
France international Griezmann scored 94 LaLiga goals for Atleti across five seasons with the club before joining Barca two years ago when his release clause was triggered.
Cerezo recently refused to rule out a move for Griezmann, but the Atleti chief does not believe the 30-year-old returning would be widely accepted among Atleti fans.
Asked if there had been any development with regards to a move for Griezmann, Cerezo said: "You're not talking to the right person."
When further probed on the issue and asked if supporters would forgive Griezmann for joining Barcelona in the first place, Cerezo said: "I don't think so."
Griezmann endured a disappointing first campaign at Barca marred by injuries and inconsistency, though he did net 20 times across all competitions in 2020-21 to finish as their second-highest goalscorer behind Lionel Messi.
He also impressed for France at Euro 2020, creating a team-high 10 chances across the tournament as Les Bleus suffered a shock last-16 elimination by Switzerland on penalties.
In his best season for Atleti in 2017-18, Griezmann scored 19 times in LaLiga – 11 more than any other team-mate – and provided 13 assists, while only Koke (81) created more opportunities than his 65 that campaign.
Stefano Pioli feels team spirit will be "crucial" ahead of the 2021-22 campaign and he pointed towards Simon Kjaer and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the men who lead by example at Milan.
Having been appointed in 2019, with the Rossoneri slumped in 13th in Serie A, Pioli guided his side up to 6th at the end of the campaign before a second-place finish last season – their joint-highest since winning the Scudetto in 2010-11.
Simon Kjaer, who ranked second among Milan defenders for aerial duels won (55) and first for interceptions (42) in 2020-21, was a standout performer as the Rossoneri undertook something of a transformation under Pioli.
And after Kjaer's heroics at Euro 2020, involving the potentially life-saving actions he performed to deal with Christian Eriksen's concerning collapse against Finland, Pioli appeared unsurprised by the Dane's clarity of mind.
"I already knew the value of Kjaer. He is a man of rare intelligence and sensitivity," the head coach told Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.
"He used those qualities to save a friend. He was lucid and precise even in such a dramatic situation."
But Pioli was not just full of praise for Kjaer, as he shifted his focus to define the important role that Ibrahimovic plays for the Rossoneri.
The 39-year-old netted 15 times during the last Serie A campaign, though it is the forward's presence off the pitch that the former Inter head coach sees as a great aid.
"Ibrahimovic has helped me a lot, he is an example in everything he does. He demands the best from himself and the others. Zlatan and Simon [Kjaer] have changed the team, not just technically, but especially in the moral sense," Pioli added.
Milan, who play Serie C side Modena on Saturday, are well underway with their pre-season plans as they prepare to compete in the Champions League for the first time since 2013-14.
The signings of Olivier Giroud, Fikayo Tomori and Sandro Tonali – the latter pair making their loan deals permanent – will only further develop an already strong squad, and Pioli is looking forward to the season ahead.
"We must not set limits for ourselves, but it will be a difficult season because there will be seven teams fighting for the top four," the head coach said.
"The group is crucial, Italy won the Euros because you could see the team spirit in their eyes. You don't win with tactics, you win by putting the group ahead of yourself."
Michael Phelps hailed Katie Ledecky as "the best female swimmer that we have ever seen" as the American looks to add to her haul of five Olympic golds in Tokyo.
Ledecky won the gold medal in the 800m freestyle race at London 2012 at the age of 15 and went on to scoop four golds in the Rio Games five years ago.
The 24-year-old will be aiming to defend her titles in the 200m, 400m and 800m individual freestyle races, as well as the 4x200m freestyle relay.
A new event has also been added in for the women at this year's Games, with the 1500m freestyle up for grabs.
Given her achievements so far, Ledecky may well have Phelps' all-time Olympic record of 23 gold medals in her sights.
Phelps, who also holds the record for the most gold medals in individual events (13) and Olympic medals in individual events (16), believes Ledecky already has to be considered one of the greats.
"Katie and I have known each other for a long time," the 36-year-old said in a Panasonic Instagram live interview. "She is hands down the best female swimmer that we've ever seen.
"I always say one thing for her is just be her. As long as she's being herself and preparing for what she has to do, everything else will happen how it's supposed to.
"She's somebody that understands what to do in this setting and she's going to go out there and have some fun and we're going to see a lot of fast times."
Phelps also suggested Ledecky, and other athletes competing for the top prizes in Tokyo, must go into "autopilot" in order to keep their composure when it counts.
He added: "You've done the hard work, now it's just time to let it all show.
"Go out there, have some smiles, have some laughs and perform.
"From [Athens] 2004 on, I feel I was almost on autopilot because the preparation was done. All I had to do was just get on the blocks and race."
Richarlison fired a first-half hat-trick before nervy Brazil almost squandered a 3-0 lead against Germany in their Tokyo 2020 opener, while Australia stunned Argentina.
Reigning Olympic champions Brazil eventually toppled Germany 4-2 in the Group D opener in Yokohama, a rematch of the final from the 2016 Games in Rio that went to a penalty shoot-out.
Brazil were pegged back to 3-2 on this occasion before Paulinho's stoppage-time strike ended 10-man Germany's hopes of snatching a draw.
Richarlison made a seventh-minute breakthrough when Germany defender Amos Pieper slipped to allow the Everton striker a clear run on goal. Although his first shot was pushed out by Florian Mueller, Richarlison lashed in the rebound on the half-volley.
A close-range header after 22 minutes made it 2-0 and Richarlison sealed his treble with a shot into the right corner that took a slight deflection off Pieper.
Matheus Cunha missed a penalty for Brazil in first-half stoppage time before clumsy goalkeeping from Santos allowed Germany to get on the scoresheet after the break, Nadiem Amiri's tame volley creeping in.
Germany's Maximilian Arnold was dismissed after a soft second booking for a clash with Dani Alves, but another goal arrived when Ragnar Ache headed home in the 83rd minute, only for Paulinho's clinical breakaway finish, high into the top right corner, to make sure of the points.
Australia enjoyed a banner day as goals from Lachlan Wales and Marco Tilio floored a youthful Argentina side, who had midfielder Francisco Ortega sent off shortly before half-time.
Wales tucked in a low cross from Joel King to give the Olyroos a 14th-minute lead, and Ortega was dismissed for two bookable offences in quick succession to leave Argentina in trouble.
Tilio sealed a 2-0 win with a thumping left-footed strike into the right corner from 20 yards after 80 minutes as Argentina were caught on the break.
France were beaten 4-1 by Mexico, with substitutes Uriel Antuna and Eduardo Aguirre putting the finishing touches to the impressive win with late goals. Andre-Pierre Gignac, who plays his club football in Liga MX, got France's consolation with a second-half penalty.
Burnley striker Chris Wood scored as New Zealand earned a 1-0 win over South Korea, and Milan midfielder Franck Kessie netted in Ivory Coast's 2-1 victory against Saudi Arabia.
Spain were held 0-0 by Egypt, while hosts Japan edged South Africa 1-0 and Romania beat Honduras by the same scoreline.
France head coach Sylvain Ripoll has called on his players to "digest" their 4-1 thumping by Mexico and promptly step up their game at Tokyo 2020.
Les Bleus went into the Olympic tournament rated as being among the leading medal contenders along with Brazil and Spain.
But they suffered a miserable defeat to Mexico on Thursday and are now under pressure in Group A with just three days until their next match against South Africa.
The match was goalless at half-time, with five goals scored in an extraordinary second period.
But France only accounted for one of those strikes, a penalty from captain Andre-Pierre Gignac.
"The first thing we are going to do is digest what happened," said Ripoll. "We only have a couple of days between matches so it's not very much time.
"Of course we knew this would be difficult but we know we can do better. There's not a lot of time [between matches] so each player will have to focus on themselves individually.
"We play as a team but everybody needs to step up their game so we can get a better result in the game against South Africa."
Ripoll felt France's struggles to keep the ball were key to their defeat, but does now feel Mexico will be looked at in a different light.
"We are disappointed, not just with the result but with the content of the match," he added.
"We should have had a better balance, we needed to be better, but now we can really understand the quality of the Mexico team, which is a really high-quality team.
"There's more that we should have done. It's important to understand that we need to improve our game going forward.
"In football it's all about having the ball and we struggled with that."
Hosts Japan, who beat South Africa 1-0 in their opener, are the other team in Group A.
Jamaica has suffered an injury blow ahead of the start of the Tokyo Olympics this weekend.
The artistic gymnastics competition for women is scheduled to begin on Sunday morning in Japan (Saturday night in the Caribbean)
Members of the country’s 62-member team are arriving in Tokyo ahead of the games that officially begin tomorrow morning and right off the bat, it appears as if injury is playing an early role.
Gymnast Danusia Francis has revealed that she had an injured left knee. The severity of the injury is unknown but she is still managing to get her practice sessions in albeit with some amount of caution. The athlete, only the second female gymnast to represent Jamaica at the Olympics, posted pictures on her Instagram account knee on Tuesday and again on Wednesday that showed her heavily bandaged knee.
On Friday morning, she confirmed what the pictures were showing when she posted, “The arena is stunning. Unfortunately, I do have a knee injury so only bars today, but happy with my performance and enjoyed myself out there.” It is unclear whether she suffered the injury prior to or after her arrival in Japan.
She also posted a video of herself leaping and landing with stability, which might be an indication that the injury is not too severe.
Francis is expected to perform well at the Olympics on the strength of outstanding performances in her routines in Spain in June while competing for gymnastics club Xelska.
“My performances were really good. I was extremely happy with my bar routine, I got a really good score there, and then my vault was good,” she said at the time.
“I did make a mistake on (the) beam but as I mentioned, I was only supposed to do three of the events and the beam was a last-minute decision so I was a bit flustered and it was kind of an uncharacteristic mistake so nothing that I can’t fix.”
Spain boss Luis de la Fuente was dismayed to lose Oscar Mingueza and Dani Ceballos to injuries in the team's Tokyo 2020 opener.
The head coach of the Olympic team fears Barcelona defender Mingueza and Real Madrid midfielder Ceballos will not make swift recoveries.
He was also critical of the officiating that allowed Egypt to enforce their physical game on the match that finished 0-0 in Sapporo.
Speaking about the injured duo, who were both forced off in the first half, De la Fuente said: "They are the greatest concern. They do not look good. Let's see if I'm wrong and they can recover.
"We are very concerned because they could be serious injuries."
Mingueza was on the receiving end of a sixth-minute heavy tackle that saw Ahmed Fotouh yellow-carded, and then came off in the 22nd minute.
Ceballos was replaced shortly before half-time after being fouled by Taher Mohamed, although it was seemingly unintentional when the Egyptian player stood on the Spain star's left ankle.
Asked about Egypt's approach, after they were shown four yellow cards, De la Fuente suggested they should have had more discouragement from such forceful tackling.
He said, quoted in Marca: "The other day we had a talk in which they explained to us how the VAR works and we hope that next time we will have better luck with the sanctions that take place in the field of play because today we have not had it.
"We had a meeting that explained the actions that could be punished with a red card. Today there were several of them and they were not punished as they told us."
Mingueza had a breakthrough season at Barcelona last term, playing 39 senior games after stepping up from the club's B team.
Ceballos has returned to Real Madrid ahead of the new LaLiga campaign after spending the past two campaigns on loan at Arsenal. He failed to score in 40 games for the Gunners last season and had just three assists.
The journey towards Tokyo 2020 has been a long and uncertain one.
Postponed by 12 months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that continues to wreak havoc across the globe, it was by no means certain the Olympics would happen at all.
But here we are, just a day away from the opening ceremony as the last of the athletes, officials and world's media descend on the Japanese capital for a Games like no other.
Here, Stats Perform's reporter on the ground, Peter Hanson, documents his journey from Sheffield to Tokyo in a behind-the-curtain look at what it has taken to be part of the Olympics.
ONLINE SYSTEMS AND IMPORTANT ORGANISED FUN
For me and thousands of others, the trip to Tokyo technically started months in advance. To put it lightly, the organisers absolutely love an online system.
There's a system for accommodation details, there's a system for arrivals and departures at the airport, there's a system for registering health information, there's a system for each media organisation to nominate a Covid Liaison Officer (CLO) – whose job it is to inform Tokyo 2020 of any positive COVID-19 tests within the team. Given I'm the only full-time Stats Perform member on the ground in Tokyo that responsibility fell to me and I am responsible for…well, me.
On top of that, there's an Activity Plan to fill out, send back and ultimately get approval for by the Japanese government.
Admittedly, on the surface you may think this all sounds like a bit of "organised fun" but in truth it's an extremely important part of the process as it allows you to list all the venues you plan on visiting for the first 14 days of your stay in Tokyo. Getting this ratified is crucial because for those first two weeks you have to agree not to stray anywhere outside of those destinations or your hotel, while the use of public transport is not permitted.
A day before I travelled, I received a call from Tokyo 2020 to tell me my plan will be approved on the condition I agree to quarantine for three days at my hotel due to conditions on UK residents entering Japan amid a spike in coronavirus cases in Britain.
GO WITH THE (LATERAL) FLOW
With all of that (finally) taken care of, the path is fiddly yet relatively clear – but it's a path that involves testing, testing and testing again.
Indeed, against the wisdom of our parents who tell us from a very young age not to stick foreign objects in our orifices, I start the process of taking a lateral flow test every day a fortnight out from my flight to Tokyo.
As each day progresses, the results of these tests become more and more nervy as any positive case at that point would have almost certainly curtailed any hopes I had of covering the Games from Tokyo and ensured months of stress amounted to nought.
Then the really crucial tests come just days before departure. To enter Japan, a certificate of a negative test must be produced – one within 96 hours of take-off and one within 72.
Helpfully, the British Olympics Association helped facilitate these tests via Randox, a private testing company, and both certificates arrived with ample time before my flight.
THE DAY OF…
So, with activity plans in place and tests conducted the real "fun" could begin…
My own personal journey on the day began with a 6am wake-up alarm in order to take one last lateral flow test, prior to a 10am train from Sheffield to London St Pancras. From there, it's another hour on the Piccadilly line getting from central London to Heathrow Airport.
At this stage it's time to let you into a little personal secret. I am one of "those" people. The kind of people who like to arrive around six weeks early at the airport to make sure I'm on time for my flight…
I was at the airport six hours before my flight, which meant I had two hours to kill before I could even check in my case and, understandably, a contingent from TeamGB has first dibs on processing their luggage to delay things a little longer.
The check-in process at this stage was relatively normal, bar having to show proof of the negative COVID certificate, and the journey through security was also straightforward.
By the time I was at the other side, there was still around three hours until departure leaving ample time for that age-old British tradition…a beer and burger at Wetherspoons.
APP WOE AND LENGHTY WAITS AT HANEDA
By now (partly due to my own being late to the airport anxiety) the journey to Tokyo had already lasted around nine hours…now there was just the little matter of a 12-and-a-half-hour flight to Haneda Airport to get through.
The flight itself was nothing out of the ordinary, save for a few bumpy moments of turbulence. It was your standard fill out the customs forms, eat the flight food (I'm one of those strange folk who actually quite enjoys the in-flight meals…) and watch the on-board entertainment. My choices were "Avengers: Endgame", "Joker" and couple of episodes of the Big Bang Theory…yes, I know, the last one is completely rubbish but I needed something to pass the time as any attempt at sleep was now futile!
So, the flight itself was pretty mundane but this was where the sleep-deprived hard work began.
As soon as everyone stepped off the plane, we were split into two lines. One for domestic arrivals, who sailed onto immigration with a breeze. The other, significantly longer, line was for media and other Games-related stakeholders.
This was the start of the more arduous part of the process. Remember earlier when I mentioned the love of systems? Well, one of them was to have downloaded and logged into a health app named OCHA designed specifically for the Games which I was supposed to have signed into using my accreditation details…the only problem for me is it wasn't working and hadn't been for weeks. Whenever I tried to log in, I was just get greeted by an error message and weeks of back-and-forth with the relevant helpline had not yielded success.
Now, having OCHA was supposed to be a prerequisite to get into the country but luckily there was a workaround whereby I could fill out an online health questionnaire and print off a written pledge. Sounds simple enough, but it turns out the issue of the app not working was not exactly rare…
At this stage, it's only fair to pay credit to the rushed staff at Haneda, going round taking accreditation numbers, liaising with Games officials and eventually helping the hordes of media and officials progress to the next part of the process after over a groggy two-hour wait.
VALIDATION AND LAMINATION
After that painstaking delay, the remainder of the airport process was lengthy but impressively smooth.
Firstly, there's the small case of another COVID test. I first of all registered and picked up the sample kits and proceeded to the next room, which looked a little like something out of a sci-fi movie and entered a private booth. The only difference here, at least for me was that, instead of using swabs like back in the UK, the method of choice is a saliva antigen test where you essentially spit into a tube until you have enough of a sample to be analysed. It's about as grim as it sounds.
Feeling slightly disgusting, my sample was dropped off and there was another lengthy walk through to the holding area where I waited for my test number to appear on a screen, almost like being at a deli counter in the supermarket.
After around an hour, I received a negative result and the finish line was almost in sight. But first, it was time to get my accreditation validated.
Again, the logistics of this process were pretty flawless – it takes a good five-to-10 minutes to reach the accreditation desk but the route is perfectly sign-posted and in no time at all I have my fancy laminated accreditation on a lanyard, which will be used to get into all venues for the Games.
At last, it was time to go through immigration, whereby I underwent the typical scrutiny you face when entering a country, and – much to my delight – despite a three-and-a-half-hour process, my luggage was still waiting on the carousel at the other side.
SHUTTLE BUSES AND FANCY TAXI DOORS
This is nothing against Haneda, or the awesome people organising this huge logistical task, but it was a real relief to be leaving the airport.
Feeling a little like a D-list Hollywood actor, when I arrived in the departures hall I was whisked off outside by more helpful staff towards a shuttle bus, which took me to a taxi pick-up point around 20 minutes away.
Here, each person was assigned to an individual vehicle. After several attempts to open the passenger door, a kind lady helpfully pointed out that they are automatic and will open when the driver enters the car…needless to say the sight of the door swinging open of its own accord blew my tiny South Yorkshire mind.
Another 20-minute journey followed until – at last – I arrived at my hotel, checked-in and settled down into my room…some 27 hours after leaving Sheffield.
France are expecting the United States to come out firing when the men's basketball competition at the Tokyo Olympics begins.
Team USA are favourites to win a fourth consecutive gold at the Games despite losing two exhibition games in a mixed build-up period to the tournament.
They open their Group A campaign against France in Saitama on Sunday.
France defeated the Americans in the 2019 World Cup quarter-finals and head coach Vincent Collet expects that to be on the minds of their opponents.
He said: "We also know that they want to beat us because two years ago we did it in China - so we know what to expect."
Collet is aware that France's Olympics fate is unlikely to be determined by their group game with the USA, even if it is an occasion to savour.
Asked if it was an advantage to play USA first, he said: "I don't know. It's always a very tough game. It's a special game, but for us it’s just the beginning of the competition.
"I would hope that we play a good game but whatever happens we will need to beat the Czech Republic in the second one, which is probably even more important.
"The preparation has been up and down. We didn't have a couple of players until last week so it has hurt the preparation a little bit."
Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier are two of the five NBA players in the 12-man France roster.
Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Draymond Green and Devin Booker are among the leading names playing for the USA.
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