International Federations look forward to Tokyo 2020
With one year to go, we asked the International Federations what they were especially looking forward to about the upcoming Olympic Games. Here is what they answered.
World Rugby
“Just over one month ago, we concluded a record-breaking season on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, and today we celebrate exactly one year until Tokyo 2020, where rugby sevens will make its second appearance on the Olympic Games programme – this is a very exciting time for our sport,” said Bill Beaumont, the Chairman of World Rugby. “After the incredible success of Rio 2016, which saw rugby sevens win the hearts of millions of new fans worldwide, we are confident that Tokyo will be an excellent platform to showcase our sport and inspire many more to take up playing or watching the unique game of sevens. We are both excited and honoured that rugby sevens will return to the biggest stage in sport, where spectators will witness the players’ immense talent and athleticism over six action-packed days.”
Badminton World Federation
“We are very much looking forward to the badminton competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. With Japan’s fantastic pedigree in the sport, and recent successes, the atmosphere at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza will be amazing,” said BWF President Poul-Erik Høyer. “We are lucky there have been two test events at the Olympic venue – both last year and the official test event this week at the Japan Open – and we are very satisfied the venue will stage a wonderful tournament. The Olympic qualifying period is well under way, and already we have seen some spectacular badminton. We wish all players the best of luck in their quest to qualify for Tokyo 2020, and we look forward to seeing everyone back here in Japan in 12 months’ time.”
International Golf Federation
“Following golf’s highly successful return to the Olympic programme after more than 100 years, we are very excited about the prospects for the 2020 Olympic Games,” said IGF Executive Director Antony Scanlon. “Over the past several years since the Rio Games, we have seen how lasting the prestige of winning an Olympic medal in golf has been. And the response from the world’s leading players has been overwhelmingly positive regarding their desire to represent their country in Tokyo and earn bragging rights as an Olympic champion. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will provide all our athletes with a unique and memorable experience in front of some of the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable golf fans in the world, at an outstanding venue at the Kasumigaseki Country Club.”
International Tennis Federation
“Tennis’s return to the Olympics 31 years ago was an important milestone in the history of our sport, since when it has grown in stature within the Olympic programme”, said ITF President David Haggerty. “We are delighted that the next Games will be staged in a nation with such a strong and proud history of tennis, and offering two of the potential faces of the Games in Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka. The Ariake Tennis Park is being completely renovated for the Games and will provide a lasting legacy for our sport.”
International Hockey Federation
“I’m so much looking forward to the Tokyo Olympic hockey tournaments in a year’s time”, said FIH President and IOC Member Narinder Dhruv Batra. “Our colleagues and friends from TOCOG and the Japanese Hockey Association, with our support, will put together remarkable events. I’m very thankful to the Japanese authorities for having delivered such an outstanding hockey stadium, which will remain as a great legacy for Japanese hockey after the Games.”
International Equestrian Federation
“Every four years, the Olympic and Paralympic Games provide a sporting spectacle like no other and, with one year to go to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the excitement is building among our eventing, jumping, dressage and Para-dressage athletes. We have a star-studded cast for our Ready Steady Tokyo test event next month, when some of the world’s most decorated eventing athletes and their equine partners will have the opportunity to trial our two fabulous venues and, at the same time, provide a taster of the level of equestrian action that will be on offer at the Games next year,” said FEI President Ingmar De Vos.
”We are very lucky to have two wonderful venues at Baji Koen and Sea Forest. Baji Koen, which hosted the Olympic equestrian events at the Tokyo Games in 1964, has been extensively refurbished by the Japan Racing Association, while our cross country venue at Sea Forest, which we share with rowing and canoe sprint, is on reclaimed land and will be turned into a park post-Games, so both will offer an incredible legacy to the people of Tokyo and visitors. Equestrian brings together sporting prowess and horsemanship, and we are excited that a whole new global audience will have the chance to witness the unique collaboration between horse and human, which creates a cocktail of drama and pure magic.”
International Handball Federation
“It’s only one year to go and, while qualifications are still going on, we cannot wait for the men’s and women’s handball tournaments at Tokyo 2020 to start. We are glad that the Olympic Games will return to Tokyo after 55 years. The handball venue is a 1964 legacy, and with its quite unusual form – even though logistically a bit more demanding – and very central location, it creates a special atmosphere to which we are very much looking forward,” said XXX. “Of course we would like to see handball continue the success of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, when our sport ranked second in terms of tickets sold. We will do our best to promote handball all over the world and encourage people to come and join us at Tokyo 2020. Moreover, if everything goes as planned we might even see both disciplines – indoor and beach handball – at the Tokyo 2020 Games. With beach handball as a demonstration sport at Tokyo 2020, we are taking one step closer to our goal of beach handball becoming an Olympic sport.”
“Many of the future stars of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will begin to shine when the IAAF World Athletics Championships take place in Doha in just two months, said IAAF President Sebastian Coe. "Tokyo is preparing a wonderful stage for those athletes, in the rebuilt 1964 Olympic Stadium and on the roads of the city, centred around the Imperial Palace. With the Tokyo Organising Committee, we have a safe pair of hands. Every Olympic Games has its challenges and Tokyo 2020 is working through those, but we are comfortable it will deliver everything we need for an outstanding Games. We’re even more excited to return to Japan after experiencing the enthusiasm of the local fans for athletics during the IAAF World Relays in Yokohama in May this year. “
Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne
“Modern pentathlon has been a continuous part of the programme of the Olympic Summer Games since it was introduced by Pierre de Coubertin in Stockholm in 1912," said Dr Klaus Schormann, UIPM President. "Everybody in our global UIPM community is excited and preparing with a big sense of anticipation for the Olympic Games in Tokyo one year from now, when the pentathlon will once again form the climax of the Games. For the first time at the Olympic Games, all five disciplines will be viewed by spectators with one ticket and one seat in the magnificent Tokyo Stadium, which will hold 50,000 people. The Pentathlon Arena concept is now fully embedded in our major competitions, and we had a successful UIPM Pentathlon World Cup Final in the grounds of our Olympic venue at Musashino Forest Plaza in June 2019 – the first official Tokyo 2020 Test Event. In the year that we mark the 125th anniversary of the modern Olympic Movement, as established by Coubertin at the University of the Sorbonne in Paris in 1894, we are striding forward on the road to Tokyo, looking to the future with innovation while always treasuring our heritage.”
World Baseball Softball Confederation
“As the biggest sport in Japan, the World Baseball Softball Confederation is thrilled that baseball and softball are returning to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. With Japan boasting a rich history and strong tradition in baseball and softball, the Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium and the Yokohama Baseball Stadium are going to be the places to be during Games time," said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “We feel honoured that softball will open the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games before the Opening Ceremony on 22 July. We are also proud that baseball and softball will be a vehicle and symbol of the regeneration of the earthquake-hit city of Fukushima, with the opening matches of both softball and baseball taking place in the Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium.”