Genzebe Dibaba believes it would be a more comfortable experience at the Tokyo Games if athletes are vaccinated against coronavirus and is confident organisers will do all they can to protect competitors at the Olympics.

Wednesday marks 100 days until the Games are due to begin in the Japanese capital, a year later than planned after the original dates in 2020 were scuppered by the pandemic.

The health crisis continues to cause issues for nations across the globe but the message from the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and from the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee has thus far been that the show will go on.

While international fans are banned from attending, and social-distancing measures, track-and-trace systems and temperature checks will be enforced, a vaccination against COVID-19 will not be a pre-requisite to participate in Tokyo.

Middle and long-distance runner Dibaba, a silver medallist in the 1500 metres at Rio 2016 and the world record holder over that distance, thinks athletes should have a jab for the Games.

"Yes, I think it's safe and more comfortable to manage, to meet with the other athletes," Dibaba told Stats Perform News.

"[I think it's] better to take the vaccine."

As part of the solutions to try and prevent transmission of the virus at the Games, Tokyo 2020 and the IOC have come up with 'Playbooks' for athletes, officials and the media to follow – which includes having to complete an activity book outlining plans while in the city.

Regular testing will also be enforced, with athletes being checked every four days, and Dibaba acknowledged organisers are doing what they can to put on a safe Games.

"It's hard to feel safe because it's a virus and you can get it at any minute," she added.

"But since it's the Olympics, I know they will do everything they can to protect us."

Dibaba spoke about the difficulties athletes have faced in training for an Olympics facing so much uncertainty.

But the Ethiopian – a world champion in 2015 – is still focused on moving up a step on the podium in Tokyo, even if she feels a crack at breaking her own 1500m world record may have to wait a little while.

"For now I'm getting ready for the Olympics, not for the record," Dibaba said. 

"It's a race, since it's a record anyone can break it if they work hard. If they go for the record I will be there. 

"If not I'm just working for the Olympic Games, not for the record. After the Olympics, I promise you I will try one more time that I will go for the record."

Never before has the idea of 'Olympic spirit' been more pertinent as the days close in on a second attempt to stage the 2020 Tokyo Games.

The coronavirus pandemic meant the Olympics had to be postponed for the first time since World War II last year and the ongoing global health crisis has led to continued uncertainty as to whether they can even take place over the rearranged dates of July 23 to August 8.

It is already known that international spectators will not be allowed to travel to Japan, with stadiums to admit only local fans to try to limit the spread of COVID-19.

But, as things stand, it is full steam ahead for Tokyo to finally host the Games of the 32nd Olympiad. As global communities look to match the kind of resolve that makes the Games so special, join us in looking back at 10 of the most memorable moments in Olympics history, with 100 days to go until the action begins.

OWENS DEFIES HITLER AND EARNS LEGENDARY STATUS

It was not just the sensational athletic feats that enshrined Jesse Owens as an all-time great. At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Owens – an African American – sensationally won four gold medals, in the 100 metres, 200m, 4x100m relay and the long jump, breaking or equalling nine Olympic records and setting three world records along the way. But what was perhaps even more remarkable was the context of his achievements, with Germany under the Nazi rule of Adolf Hitler. Owens' success struck a blow to Hitler's propaganda drive and disproved his theory of Aryan racial superiority. In 1984, Carl Lewis would emulate his idol by winning the same four events in Los Angeles.

BEAMON'S LEAP OF THE CENTURY

The 1968 Games were held amid a tense local political backdrop, with many protesters having been killed by the army 10 days before the Olympics in Mexico City. During the Games, black Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos - the 200m gold and bronze medallists - gave the Black Power salute on the podium, standing alongside Australian Peter Norman who wore a badge in support of Smith and Carlos' Olympic Project for Human Rights. A day later, Bob Beamon pulled his socks high up in support of his compatriots having achieved what would be known as the 'Leap of the Century'. The New Yorker - who had a troubled upbringing - leapt an astonishing 8.90 metres (29 feet, two and a half inches), which was 55 centimetres better than the previous world record. The jump was so remarkable that officials had to measure its distance manually as the optical device being used at the Games did not reach far enough. To this day, it remains an Olympic record, though the world benchmark belongs to Mike Powell, who jumped 8.95m in 1991.

NADIA'S A PERFECT 10

Prior to the 1976 Games in Montreal, the idea of a 'Perfect 10' in gymnastics felt like somewhat of a fable – an impossible quest. And then a 14-year-old from Romania caught the imagination and the hearts of the watching world on the uneven bars. Nadia Comaneci achieved the impossible, becoming the first gymnast in Olympics history to score a 10 … not that it was immediately obvious. Because the scoreboard allowed for only three digits, Comaneci's score showed up as '1.00'. It was only when the announcer confirmed the score that an elated crowd erupted in celebration. Comaneci would go on to achieve the feat six more times at the Games, while becoming the youngest all-round Olympic gold medallist ever.

HEART AND SEOUL AS FLO-JO SETS RECORDS TUMBLING

The remarkable thing about Florence Griffith Joyner's achievements in 1988 is how relatively ordinary she had been prior to dazzling in Seoul. A silver four years earlier in the 200m came with the caveat of Russia, East Germany and most of the Eastern Bloc opting to boycott the Games. 'Flo Jo' had seemingly given up on athletics completely in 1986, working as a bank clerk and hair stylist before returning in 1987, shedding weight and finishing second in the 200m at that year's World Championship. Considered a decent but not elite 100m runner, all of that changed when 'Flo-Jo' smashed the women's 100m world record with a time of 10.49 at the US Olympic trials in July 1988. She said her transformation was based on modelling her training on that of Canadian Ben Johnson. Johnson famously won the men's 100m in Seoul in what was a world-record time of 9.79s, only to hand the gold medal after failing a drugs test, giving sport one of its most shocking moments. Yet at the same Games, 'Flo-Jo' was the flamboyant queen of the track, taking gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m – the former in an Olympic-record time of 10.54 that stands to this day, and the 200m in a world record of 21.34 that also remains unsurpassed. She died in 1998 after a seizure, a tragic end to a staggering story.

JOHNSON AWESOME IN ATALANTA

Before Bolt came along, there was another man who held the unofficial moniker of fastest man on the planet. Michael Johnson's achievement in the 1996 Olympic Games led legendary commentator David Coleman to profess: "This man is surely not human." Just three days after claiming the 400m title, Johnson left rivals in his wake with an astonishing performance in the 200m where his time of 19.32 seconds beat his own world record by over three tenths of a second. It was a benchmark that would stand until Bolt came along with a staggering 19.30s in the final of the 2008 Olympics, later going even quicker with a mind-boggling 19.19 at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.

FREEMAN THE SYMBOL OF UNITY IN SYDNEY SPACESUIT

Cathy Freeman was the poster girl of the 2000 Sydney Olympics – and Australia's only realistic hope of an athletics gold delivered in memorable style. Her face could be seen on billboards, buses and newspaper front pages throughout the country. Freeman represented more than just an athlete of supreme talent, for the Aboriginal superstar became viewed as a figure of unity, a symbol of reconciliation in Australia. Few will forget the sight of Freeman lighting the flame for the Games, which grew around her in front of a waterfall and left the perception she was floating in mid air. A silver medallist four years previously in Atlanta, the noise of over 112,000 fans caused a deafening roar as Freeman's face was shown on the giant television screens prior to the 400m final on September 25. In her now famous 'spacesuit', Freeman trailed Lorraine Graham and Katharine Merry heading into the final bend but left her rivals in her wake down the straight to claim a memorable gold - Australia's 100th in Olympics history.

STEVE'S FIVE GOLD RINGS LEAVE RIVALS IN OAR

"If anyone sees me go near a boat, you've got my permission to shoot me." Those were the famous words uttered by Steve Redgrave as he won a fourth gold medal at Atlanta 1996, in the coxless pair alongside Matthew Pinsent. But the lure of history proved too much and four years later, here he was again in Sydney competing this time as part of the coxless four and, at the age of 38, winning a fifth Olympic gold – at the time the first Briton to do so. He was the first endurance athlete who could claim to have won five golds at consecutive Games – doing so between 1984 and 2000.

HOLMES DOUBLES UP IN ATHENS

A promising career beset by injuries and illness took its toll on Kelly Holmes, who would later open up on her battle with clinical depression. But the countless hours spent in training, and gruelling rehab sessions, would be rewarded in the most magical of ways across six glorious days at Athens in 2004. The Briton had always harboured dreams of being a 1,500m Olympic champion and was in two minds as to whether she would even compete in the 800m. But race she did, and a textbook in tactics paid dividends as Holmes bided her time among a strong pace to take the lead on the final bend and hold off Hasna Benhassi and Jolanda Ceplak on the line. Just five days later, Holmes would again race towards the back of the pack in the 1,500m before hitting the front on the final straight to defeat world champion Tatyana Tomashova. Holmes became only the third woman in history and the first Briton since Albert Hill 84 years earlier to win an 800m and 1,500m Olympic double in a memorable triumph against adversity.

MAGIC 8 FOR RECORD-BREAKING PHELPS

Four years prior to competing in Beijing, swimming sensation Michael Phelps had collected six golds and two bronze medals at the Athens Games. No Greek tragedy by any stretch, but it was in Beijing where Phelps made history – winning eight gold medals, the most in a single Olympics, beating the record of fellow American swimming legend Mark Spitz who won seven in 1972. Having levelled the tally with a narrow triumph over Milorad Cavic in the 100m butterfly, Phelps' moment of history arrived in the 4x100m relay medley as the USA stormed to victory. Phelps competed five Games between 2000 and 2016, and his tally of 28 Olympic medals is a record.

LIGHTNING BOLT A BLUR IN BEIJING

No list of great Olympic moments would be complete without one of the greatest athletes of all time. In 2008, if you had blinked you could almost have missed Usain Bolt tearing to 100 metres glory as he broke his own world record in a time of 9.69 seconds - a time he would beat with an astonishing 9.58 in Berlin a year later. Bolt's remarkable performance set the tone for an unrivalled period of sprinting dominance as he took gold in the 100m and 200m at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Games. Jamaica also won the 4x100m relay in each of the Olympics where Bolt competed, and only a doping test positive for a relay team-mate saw him finish his career with eight Olympic golds instead of nine.

Slightly disappointed over her times on the weekend, Kiara Grant believes there is no reason why she should not break 11 seconds this season as she plans to fight through a competitive field to make Jamaica’s team to the Olympics this summer.

Based on how well she has been training, “there is no reason why I shouldn’t break 11 seconds,” she said.

The 20-year-old Grant, a junior at Norfolk State University, ran 11.29 for second place in the 100m and 23.25 to win the 200m at the Gamecock Invitational at Gregger Park on Saturday.

“This was my opener. I could have been better but they’re okay times for an opener,” she said, “so I know what I need to fix in practice. It’s to see how I can lower my times before regionals asap.”

She has about two weeks to those regionals and she believes that is more than enough time to get the required work in. “I have two meets to get those times down. I am a lot stronger and I have been putting the background work, so with the right competition I can get my times down,” she said confidently.

Grant, who has a personal best of 11.04, said she was expecting to run 11.1 or 11.0x on Saturday and around 22.9, said running her intent to go faster is not just for regionals but for the much bigger event this summer.

“That’s the biggest goal right now. I am up for the Olympics. It doesn’t get better than that. That’s why I am working on getting my times down,” she said.

“Sha’ Carri Richardson ran 10.7, we have to do something over these next two weeks. We have to apply some kind of pressure,” she declared.

Natalliah Whyte was well pleased with her 100m outing at the Miramar South Florida Invitational on Saturday but she is hoping that she will go much faster as the season progresses. Whyte was third in 11.16 behind runaway winner Sha’ Carri Richardson, who ran a jaw-dropping 10.72s, the fastest time in the world this year.

The 23-year-old Jamaican, who ran the lead-off leg for Jamaica’s gold medal-winning 4x100 relay team at the World Championships in Doha in 2019, had run even faster in the preliminary round clocking 11.07s, her season-best.

However, taking the two races together, Whyte said she was happy with the overall performance.

“The first 100 metres of the season after not competing or doing much due to Covid this time last year, and with a time of 11.07 in the heats and 11.16 in the finals, I am satisfied,” she told Sportsmax.TV following her race.

She explained that the races were meant to provide her and her coach with indicators of what her progress is this season.

“It’s really just taking each race at a time and finding out my weak points and working on those so I can put everything together to get that perfect race,” said Whyte, who trains with Puma MVP International at their base at the Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

“I was hoping to go faster in the final run but, as I said, the race wasn’t perfect but there is still room for improvement. It’s the first race of the season and I think everything will come together as I move forward.”

Whyte did not compete indoors during the winter but does not believe it had any impact on her performances outdoors where she has run two 200m races recording times of 22.88 and 23.28 on March 20 and April 4, respectively.

“Not competing indoors doesn’t give you that early push that pushes you into outdoor. So basically, just training doesn’t give you a true benchmark of where you would want to be,” she explained.

“Competing with world-class athletes is what really sets the standard for what to work on and to just see where you are in your progress. So this meet was a great meet. It had a lot of world-class athletes so it was a true test of progress.”

Having run both short sprints so far this season begs the question, does she plan to compete at both at the Olympic this summer should she qualify at her national championships set for June? Whyte said it’s too early to say.

“Both events complement each other so at the moment I am using each event to get better at the other. The 200m really helps with speed endurance but eventually, when it gets closer to that time, my coach and I will decide based on how the season progresses, what will be best,” she said.

“At the moment, I am delighted for the opportunity to compete. I haven’t run the 200 consistently for the past few years so I am just trying to familiarize myself with the event again. So it’s really a learning process as I go along.  I am also trying to stay injury-free, which is my number one goal.”

Commenting on Richardson's phenomenal time, Whyte said: "Richardson's run was spectacular, she’s a very talented athlete."

Texas A&M's Tyra Gittens was super excited about her new personal best in the heptathlon this weekend but acknowledged that there is still room for a lot of improvement. This is especially true if he wants to achieve her goal of competing in the multi-event discipline at this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

The 22-year-old Trinidadian, the 2021 NCAA pentathlon champion competing in her first heptathlon is more than two years scored an NCAA-leading 6274 points after completing the seven events at the Texas A&M Invitational held at Bryan-College Station in Texas on Friday and Saturday.

She won all four disciplines in windy conditions on Friday. She opened up with a time of 13.14 in the 100m hurdles for 1103 points, cleared 1.82m in the high jump, scoring 1003 points and won the shot put with a throw of 12.85m that earned her 717 points. In the final event of the day, she won the 200m sprint in 23.33, scoring 1046 points.

She returned on Saturday morning winning the long jump with a leap of 6.67m that earned her 1062 points. She only managed 631 points for the javelin and then rounded out the competition with a 2:28.52 run in the 800m for 712 points.

“Mood for a huge personal best, new school record, and an NCAA leading 6274 points in my first heptathlon in forever! Still so much to work on and I can’t wait to recover and get back into training” she posted on Instagram afterwards, very much aware of the work that she needs to get done if she is to book a ticket to Tokyo.

The 6247 points she scored is still 173 shy of the Olympic qualifying standard of 6420 points.

World Championship long jump finalist Chanice Porter jumped a personal best 6.77m to finish third in the long jump at the Spec Town Invitational in Georgia on Friday.

Porter, who had a previous best of 6.75 set in 2018 hit the mark with her first jump which she followed up with 6.60. Her finally jump was a creditable 6.48m.

However, while she opened with a personal best, she was second after the first round as Jasmine Moore got 6.83m on her first jump.

Both women then fell to second and third, respectively as Kendall Williams won the event with her personal best effort of 7.00m.

The 26-year-old Porter needs a mark of 6.82m to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

Track and field coach and broadcaster Ato Boldon believes the USA’s Sha’ Carri Richardson is now favoured to break Jamaica’s stranglehold on the Olympic 100m title this summer, following her jaw-dropping 100m run at the Miramar South Florida Invitational on Saturday.

World long-jump champion Tahjay Gayle and silver medalist Danielle Thomas-Dodd were the only winners on a day of mixed results for Caribbean athletes at the Miramar South Florida Invitational at the Ansin Sports Complex on Saturday.

The Jamaican government will provide more than JMD$45 million in direct financial support to athletes preparing for this summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

The global pandemic has been frustrating for many athletes, who have been unable to compete and consequently earn their keep. However, for some it is an opportunity to hone their craft, to become even better than they were before.

Such is the case of World Championship silver medalist Shanieka Ricketts, who uncorked a world-leading 14.63m triple jump at the National Stadium in Kingston on March 20.

The mark was 13cm shy of her best ever opener of 14.76m in 2019, and 30cm off her personal best, but it was an early indication of how much she had worked to improve in the time she was unable to compete in 2020 because of the many cancellations of track and field meets as the Covid-19 virus raced across the world.

Ricketts, who turned 29 in February, had one of her best jumps at the World Championships in Doha where she produced a 14.92m effort to secure a silver medal behind Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas.

Now finally competing again, she expects to go even farther this year, maybe even getting closer to the Venezuelan, who won gold with her best jump of 15.37m.

Rickett’s confidence comes from the work that she and her coach and husband Kerrylee Ricketts have been putting in during their ‘down time’, and based on past experience, the likelihood that it will bear fruit.

“My step phase has improved since last year. The triple jump is very technical, so we are aiming to improve as many aspects of the jump as possible in order to surpass my personal best,” she said.

“Training is very different from competition, so it takes a while to get the hang of competing and getting back into top shape. We do our best to assimilate a competition-type environment in training so that it does not feel foreign once we begin to compete.

“It is definitely challenging to navigate from training to competition but proper preparation builds confidence and makes the transition more comfortable. The extra time gave us a chance to work on improving my strength and sprinting mechanics which are essential in doing well.”

The uncertainty of the season has impacted her ability to compete more frequently and bring those elements perfected in training to competition. However, once she gets the chance, jumping beyond 15m could be a lot closer to reality.

“I am pleased with where I am at this stage of the season. I am hoping to jump far this year, and I know that once I got the technical aspects of the jump correct, the distances will come,” she said.

“I am not in peak shape right now so I know that I will be able to produce bigger jumps as the season progresses.”

The Jamaica Track and Field Coaches Association (JATAFCA) believes the absence of track and field competitions because of the Covid-19 pandemic is proving to be destructive.

In light of this claim, they have called upon the relevant authorities to immediately authorize the resumption of track and field that will allow the country to maintain its standing in global athletics.

The last track meet was held on March 20, 2021, and with the ISSA Boys and Girls Championships and the World Relays in Poland looming, Jamaica’s athletes will be at a significant disadvantage.

“The current delay is destructive. The psychological and mental damage to our athletes and coaches is almost irreparable. As a nation, we cannot afford a cancellation of ISSA Champs 2021, which the delay will cause. Not only is the competition a major pillar for our world-renowned track and field prowess, it provides the platform for student-athletes to earn athletics scholarships to overseas colleges and universities.”

JATAFCA said that the available data indicates that Jamaica’s student-athletes earn scholarships valued at over J$2 billion. This is a stark contrast to the J$85.791 million allocated in the 2019-20 Estimates of Expenditures for the Ministry of Sports for Athlete’s insurance. No other line item was identified as applicable.

“We, therefore, call upon the authorities to recognize the importance of track and field to the overall national development, the psyche and contribution to the young people of our nation. We implore them to partner with the JAAA, ISSA and their sponsors, to stage these competitions safely and successfully,” they said.

The inactivity, JATAFCA said, is due to the absence of approval by the authorities for the additional competitions organized and managed by the governing body the Jamaica Athletic Administrative Association (JAAA).

“We are made to understand that the authorities are concerned about the spike in COVID-19 cases and the stress on the public health system,” the JATAFCA said in a statement Thursday.

“Let it be clear that we too are equally concerned. We are, however, of the opinion that concern for public health is not diametrically opposed to the staging of COVID-19 safe track and field competitions. It is all about striking a balance, minimize the fallouts, and pursue the things we are best at.”

The coaches’ association said that over a three-week period from February 27 to March 20th, the JAAA staged 20 competitions that saw 39 junior athletes - 27 boys and 12 girls - making the very rigorous qualifying standards for the World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi Kenya.

In addition, there was at least one world-leading performance from a senior athlete.

“With some 1500 juniors and close to 300 senior athletes competing in the Qualification Trial Series (QTS), there was no reported positive COVID-19 case(s) among athletes, officials or athlete support personnel,” the coaches said.

“The JAAA executed well and established a blueprint that several countries across the NACAC region, including USA and Canada, have now adopted.

 “We also make the call for authorities to provide clear and immediate responses, within 24 hours, to the applications for permits now in their possession. Further delay would be tantamount to assisting our global competitors in making light of our efforts when we meet on the track or in the field later this year.

“As an association, we will continue to play our part in encouraging our members to practice all the COVID-19 protocols for mask-wearing, social distancing and hand hygiene. They know we hold them to a high standard of compliance, a similar standard that has resulted in us being ranked third in World Athletics.”

Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson has designs on being in Tokyo for the Olympic Games this summer and based on what she has done so far at the University of Oregon she believes she has a good shot at it.

Ever since COVID-19 took real effect on the Jamaican landscape around March 2020, the local sporting fraternity has taken a battering, with the vast majority of disciplines forced off the playground and their architects, the sportsmen and sportswomen, unable to parade their skills.

Bahamian sprint queen Shaunae Miller-Uibo threw down the gauntlet to would-be challengers over the 200m on Sunday when she sped to a world-leading 22.03 run with a trailing wind of 1.5m/s at the Pure Athletics Spring Invitational in Clermont Florida.

Two-time Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell Brown continued her comeback on Saturday, winning the half-lap sprint at the 2021 Colonial Relays at the College of William and Mary Zalde Stadium in Virginia on Saturday.

The 2004 and 2008 Olympic champion, who has a personal best of 21.74 from 2008, clocked 23.73 into a headwind of -1.1m/s but finished well clear of Amanda Stead and Amaya Johnson, who were second and third in 24.40 and 24.71, respectively.

This was Campbell-Brown’s first outdoor meet this season. She ran a 7.34 60m dash indoors at Virginia Beach in February.

Her last time under 23 seconds, 22.60 was done in Gainesville, Florida in March 2017.

Campbell-Brown, 38, was out of competition for more than two years recovering from injury and giving birth to her daughter Avianna Amora Brown, who was born in February 2019.