Net of the fact that, as we all know, these Olympics will not be normal, between doors closed to fans (even local ones), anti-Covid bubbles and carpet swabs that risk affecting races and medal chances, the Tokyo Games are underway Friday 23 July (until Sunday 8 August) however present a couple of interesting data. The first is that although the biggest sporting event on the planet will inevitably be penalized by the pandemic, it will also be the most gender-balanced one in history. Keeping up with the times, they see female inclusion at the center of the international political agenda, gender equality will in fact be achieved in Tokyo: 48,8% of registered athletes are women. A huge step forward if you consider that at the first modern Olympics, in 1896 in Athens, there was only one woman taking part. In the following edition in Paris, women were just over 2%, that is 22 out of 997 participants (in that edition the first pink medal also arrived, for the USA).
We have to wait for the 1964 Games, hosted in Tokyo, to see the female presence rise to 13%, then to 23% in Los Angeles 1984 and finally to 45% in the last edition, five years ago in Rio de Janeiro. Even the Italian delegation in Japan is no less: even in boxing, a discipline that has always been considered male, there are four qualified blue athletes, compared to zero men; and the Divine Federica Pellegrini, one of our leading sportswomen, can become the first woman in the world with 5 Olympic swimming finals. The other surprising figure of Tokyo 2020 concerns precisely the Italian shipment, which it reaches its all-time high in numerical terms: the blue troop has 385 elements (372 "starters" plus 13 starting reserves), an absolute record made possible by the exploits of athletics, which has not won a medal since London 2012 but brings 76 members to the various competitions, a record also it, and by the qualification of five teams in team sports (men's and women's volleyball, men's water polo, softball and men's basketball). Out of 385 athletes registered in 36 disciplines, 186 are women.
With this score Italy confirms itself as a sporting power, to be precise it enters the Olympic G7: if we also consider the reserves it is the sixth most represented nation, on the levels of France and Great Britain and behind only the USA (613 athletes), Japan which as host country participates in all the competitions, Australia, China and Germany. Russia brings 335 athletes, Spain 321 and Brazil 301. It is not said that a high number of athletes automatically brings a high number of medals, but the prerequisites for confirming themselves at least in the top ten of the medal table, as is the consolidated tradition, are all. According to the experts, the prediction speaks of a total number of medals around 30, with 7-8 gold medals likely on the card.
PROGRAM AND HOW TO SEE IT ON TV
Il competition schedule as always it is very busy and all concentrated in the space of just over two weeks. It starts on July 21st with some qualifying matches, then on the 23rd the inaugural ceremony, behind closed doors and with contingent delegations. Sunday 8 August the grand finale with the men's marathon and the team sports finals. As for TV coverage, there are various possibilities. In Italy Rai has the rights and will broadcast the event continuously but only on one channel, Rai 2. Therefore it will be possible to follow only the most important competitions and those involving Italian athletes. Instead, those who are already subscribed to Eurosport Player (30 channels), or those who from now on subscribe to Discovery +, which will include the offer for 7,99 euros a month, will be able to see everything. The two traditional Eurosport channels will also broadcast the event, but an agreement has not been reached with Sky which usually hosts Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2. Therefore, no Games for Sky subscribers, while these two channels (but not the 30 by Eurosport Player) will be visible on Dazn. Eurosport Player subscribers can also watch the races on Amazon Prime Video.
