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No pomp, no revelry: Tokyo Olympics seem to be weirdest ever for athletes

Athletes will be subject to a three-day quarantine upon arrival and will be required to get tested daily.

Assured repeatedly by the IOC that the games will indeed be held, many athletes have been training and competing — traveling around the globe to play in qualifying tournaments and taking endless virus tests — for the past year. (Photo: Bloomberg)
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Assured repeatedly by the IOC that the games will indeed be held, many athletes have been training and competing — traveling around the globe to play in qualifying tournaments and taking endless virus tests — for the past year. (Photo: Bloomberg)

Lisa Du | Bloomberg
Veteran Malaysian diver Pandelela Rinong has competed in three Olympics and is no stranger to the rigors of competitive sports. But never before has she experienced anything like the preparations for next month’s Tokyo Games.
 
Living in a training bubble to keep out Covid-19, the 28-year-old hasn’t seen her family for a year. Her life in Kuala Lumpur is stuck in a loop between a training facility and her residence, a three-minute walk away — though she must use a transit van to minimize interaction with potentially infected members of the public. The only company she keeps is with fellow