Ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the city of Kamo, Niigata Prefecture, spent ¥70 million ($640,000) on horizontal bars, gymnastic mats and other upgrades to training facilities for 42 Russian gymnasts and coaches who now won't be coming.
The team scrapped plans for pre-Olympics training in Japan because of the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, local officials said. Officials in the city of 25,000 say they regret the lost opportunity to host the team, even more than the money spent.
The games, now less than eight weeks away after being delayed by a year, have been upended by COVID-19. Foreign spectators will not be allowed, and more than 100 municipalities have cancelled plans to host overseas teams.
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