The Tokyo Olympics 2020 Officially closes

The Olympics ended Sunday with the Closing Ceremony

By Edward Barbacena

Tokyo - The International Olympics Committee declared the Tokyo Olympics officially closed, with officials claiming the Games were a success despite the pandemic.

One year late and staged among the strangest circumstances in modern memory, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics officially came to a close in Japan’s vast, vacant National Stadium Sunday night.

The Final fireworks

It has been an unbelievable two weeks because the 2020 Tokyo Olympics kicked off in Japan. And regardless of the continued coronavirus pandemic, which initially delayed the Summer season Olympics for an entire yr, athletes from all around the world raised the bar with their spectacular abilities and extraordinary dedication. If something, this yr’s competitors was nothing in need of spectacular.

In spite of everything, a variety of history-making moments occurred in the course of the Tokyo Olympics. Excellent instance: Group USA’s Allyson Felix turned essentially the most adorned lady in Olympic track and field history with a complete of 10 medals. And let’s additionally not neglect that Simone Biles reminded everybody about the importance of mental health.

The cold war between the Americans and the Russians revived on the wrestling mat.  The much awaited battle between the bitter rivals Abdulrashid Sadulaev of Russia and Karl Snyder was a stunning showdown but the Russian tank pinned down Captain America.

The Unites States dominated the sports events earning the most numbers of olympic medals, with 39 golds, 41silvers, 33 bronze with a total number of 113 all in all.  It was a tough race with China that was dominating for many days but on the 15th day, the U.S. took the spotlight.

The Olympic cauldron was extinguished at 10:15 pm, local time, leaving the global TV audience with 17-days’ worth of surprising and dramatic sports moments to remember — and the Japanese public with a complicated Olympic legacy to ponder.

But first, there was a show.

A Japanese ska band headlined with a musical medley while a large group of dancers and trick cyclists filled the center of the arena, which had been transformed by a temporary lawn into a loose imitation of one of Tokyo’s lively city parks. Since Olympic athletes were restricted by Covid-19 precautions from visiting the Japanese capital’s famed tourist destinations, organizers said the tableau was meant to show the global guests some of what they had been missing during their stay: “Just like a Sunday afternoon at a park in Tokyo.”

Throughout the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 8, Olympians and different rivals reveled within the magical occasion on the Japan Nationwide Stadium. From unbelievable performances by Japanese dancers and singer Tomotaka Okamoto to a firework show, it was one memorable evening.

The next Olympics begin in just 180 days time with the Winter Games opening in Beijing on 4 February. The next Summer Olympics are just three years away, with Paris hosting in 2024, before Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032.