Yuki Fukai (Tokyo)
Tokyo: Beyond the field is sweeping a wave of excitement for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. A thousand fans gather outside the Japan National Stadium for the medal ceremonies every evening. Even those who missed tickets are joining to celebrate the medal winners.
Each medal ceremony takes place in the evening of the day after the final of each event. The 12 medalists in the men’s javelin throw, women’s triple jump, men’s 400m, and women’s 400m showed up Friday on a stage set up in front of the stadium.
The winners have already received their medals from officials on the track or the field immediately after the finals. Almost 24 hours later, they relished the honor to get another celebration. Each national anthem truly brought the feeling of victory to the gold medalists.
The off-field medal ceremony, which was also held at the last Championships in Budapest two years ago, has special meaning for Tokyo. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 – held in 2021 due to COVID-19 – had no spectators, and the lack of cheers and applause caused deep disappointment among Japanese people. Now, every sports fan enjoys a mega sporting event inside and outside the stadium. “Even if you don’t have a ticket, you can witness the Championships. This is a very good idea,” said Hayato Katsuki, Japanese bronze medalist of men’s 35 Km Race Walk.
The celebration for the medalists continues even after the ceremony. A fan photo zone set up next to the stage attracts even more enthusiastic fans, and some athletes enjoy interacting with Japanese people. Yulimar Rojas from Venezuela, who won the bronze medal in the women’s triple jump, gave her autograph, and posed for photos. A track and field team member from a Japanese university said, “Amazing. She even let me touch her medal,” after he took a selfie with the star jumper.
A Japanese girl who had an autograph from the Venezuelan world record holder in the triple jump cried for joy. “I’m so happy. I feel like my heart might stop beating.”
