Summer Olympics 2020 - Tokyo

As of yesterday (24 July) the 1 year countdown to the Summer Olympics started. I love the Olympics. Can't wait.

One thing I am enthused about in these Olympics is that Tokyo 2020 will be the first Olympic Games at which fewer than half the events will be for male competitors only. It is also predicted to be the first Games at which Britain will have more female athletes than male competing.

Gracenote Database are predicting the GBR will win significantly fewer medals in Tokyo due to "Lower expectations" in Track Cycling, Rowing and Artistic Gymnastics.

A number of senior GBR athletes have either retired or moved onto different events. For example, we expect Mo Farah to compete in the Marathon but not win it. Track cyclists Laura and Jason Kenny (who have ten olympic gold medals between them) are not currently competing.

This doesn't surprise me and is expected. The 65 medal haul of London was surpassed in Rio (67) which was way beyond all expectations. But that sort of progress is unsustainable when resources are being squeezed and a new generation is yet to mature.

Some gold medals are strongly expected. Adam Peaty in the pool looks pretty much indestructible (breast stroke). Laura Muir should win the women's 1500 metres and Katarina Johnson-Thompson will make a stronger challenge for the Heptathlon than in 2016. I think it is too much of an ask for Dina Asher-Smith to take gold in the women's 200 metres, but she has a good chance of being on the podium. England's women will be strong challengers for the Rugby 7's.



According to Gracenote, USA are expected to win 126 medals, including 51 golds.

I can't wait to Godzilla to win a lot of gold medals for japan next summer.

I think Building Smashing is still just a demonstration sport and no medals are handed out.

I love the Olympics, but have no telly so will just watch highlights online.

I'm going to spend the next twelve months watching a load of old footage from previous Games. 1896 was the first, and last weekend I watched a seven minute clip of things from it, mostly a load of vips in big hats, and some odd bits of sport near the end

Tokyo eh? Didn’t Japan just recently host the Olympics? The IOC really needs to spread this thing around more.

If the contestants are all naked like they used to be in Greece, then maybe I’d be interested.

Otherwise I’ll pass.

he doesn't eat people, either. he love the water, he can drown the swimmers in swimming portion. Godzilla destroy Tokyo with a belly flop.

I haven't really watch winter and summer olympics in years. I can handle watching about maybe 5 to 15 minutes, if any sports in Olympics. then I really bored by it. I change the channel.

I'm not as much into the Summer Olympics as I am the Winter. Though I'd like to catch the bicycle races - the short-track ones - if they air at a reasonable time...

Tokyo has hosted the summer Olympics before. 1964 was the last time so if you think 56 years ago is "recent" then I'd have to agree.

The IOC can only select the venue from those cities that apply. For these Games the other bid nations were Istanbul and Madrid.

Tokyo was originally selected to hold the 1940 Games but these were cancelled due to WWII.

Paris will host the 2024 Games which will be their third occasion of hosting, but their previous events were in 1900 and 1924 so it will have been a while for the French. 100 years, actually. Paris will be the second city to host the Games three times. Hamburg, Budapest, Rome and Los Angeles also bid for 2024.

A couple of little factoids for everybody. The stadium is being built on the site of the 1964 venue. Another exercise in recycling is that Japanese citizens were invited to donate any old mobile phones and other devices they had, which were then dismantled for their precious metals (gold, silver and bronze) which have been incorporated into the metals used to make the winners medals.

Skateboarding will make it's Olympic debut and Shaun White is expected to compete. If successful he will become one of an elite band of only 5 other athletes who have won both Winter and Summer Olympic medals to date.

Godzilla has failed to make the qualifying time for any events and in any case is banned under international rules which disqualify radiation-enhanced athletes.

Godzilla would have missed 1940 Olympics anyway, usa dropped two atomic bombs over japan after the games. so, Godzilla wouldn't have wake up in time to be in the games.

Well I was asking about Japan, not Tokyo specifically.

Anyways, I looked it up. They last hosted an Olympics in 1998. So I suppose 20 years ago is a fair amount of time, but considering how many countries, continents there are, yeah it’s still recent.

I did think it was closer because that Asian region in general has been getting a lot of nods lately - Beijing and South Korea in addition to Japan - in getting 3 consecutive Olympics and 4 out of the last 8 bid awards.