The Olympic Games will take place in Tokyo without spectators which is heartbreaking for competitors.
The announcement was made on Thursday after Tokyo was placed in a state of emergency until August 22 due to rising numbers of coronavirus cases.
It is devastating news for athletes, particularly for those whom the Olympics represents the pinnacle of their sport.
I was fortunate to cover the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 and it was an incredible experience.
The frenzied atmosphere at some of the events, such as the cycling at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and the swimming at Tollcross, as Scottish athletes chased medals, made it a truly special event.
I lost count of the number of athletes afterwards, not just from Scotland, who thanked the crowds for bringing out that extra intensity and energy in their performances.
The athletes in Tokyo will have to find that motivation internally as they won’t be able to use the raucous scenes in the stands for inspiration.
Of course, for some competitors the lack of fans may help them find more focus to deliver a top performance without the pressure of an 80,000-strong crowd at the Japan National Stadium.
Over the past year, a few football managers have hinted at certain players thriving in the sterile environment without fans at games but no one dreams of winning a gold medal in front of an empty stadium.
I’m sure the Olympics will remain a riveting spectacle but it will be sad to see athletes deprived of having their friends and family present for the defining moment in their sporting careers.
And what about Tokyo?
The Olympics should be a celebration of one of the world’s great cities and Japanese culture.
Unsurprisingly, there has been widespread opposition to the Games in Tokyo.
The Olympics has become an unwelcome distraction as Japan, like every other country across the world, tries to grapple with the pandemic.
The country has done reasonably well at tackling the pandemic with relatively low case numbers and around 15,000 deaths.
But low vaccination rates – only 15% of the population is fully vaccinated – has left Japan vulnerable to the Delta variant.
A poll by one Japanese paper suggested 80% of the country wanted the Games postponed or cancelled.
It is a true shame because previous host cities – from Barcelona in 1992 to London 2012 – have always enjoyed their moment to shine on the global stage.
Hopefully Tokyo will get another chance to host the Olympics in the not-too-distant future – if the country wants that opportunity.
Instead the opening ceremony will take place on July 23 in front of rows and rows of empty seats.
Athletes who worked so hard to get their bodies in peak condition for the 2020 Games have had to readjust for the one-year delay.
It would have been completely demoralising to postpone the event again at this late stage.
It is right they go ahead but for the athletes and Tokyo it looks set to be a bittersweet experience.
