Tokyo Games had ‘soul’ despite virus

Eliud Kipchoge produced a marathon masterclass and the USA edged China at the top of the Tokyo Olympics medals table as the curtain fell on the biggest sports event since the pandemic on Sunday.

Tokyo handed its Olympic flag to the mayor of Paris, setting the stage for the next Games in 2024 at a closing ceremony that featured park scenes of both cities, emphasising human contact even as the pandemic continues.

After Kipchoge's marathon win for Kenya, the United States scored victories in volleyball, track cycling and basketball to top the tally with 39 gold medals, just one ahead of China.

The 339th and final gold medal went to Serbia's men's water polo team, capping a Games that were in serious danger of cancellation after they became the first postponed Olympics last year. Thirty-three sports have been contested across 16 days in largely empty stadiums, with fans barred over coronavirus risks and athletes living in strict biosecure conditions.

"Some were already speaking of 'Ghost Games'," Olympics chief Thomas Bach told an International Olympic Committee session ahead of the closing ceremony on Sunday.  "What we have seen here is that on the contrary the athletes have brought soul to the Olympic Games."

The Olympics were plagued by low Japanese support over fears they would become a super-spreader event but officials maintained that a record haul of 27 gold medals, putting Japan third on the table, has won hearts.

"We believe our athletes' earnest spirit and all-out performance moved people," said Tsuyoshi Fukui, chef de mission for the Japanese team.

Two incredible 400m hurdles races, a women's sprint clean sweep, a stunning 100m shock and a shared high jump gold medal will be the indelible athletics memories from the Tokyo Olympics as the sport showed there is life after Usain Bolt.

"We are thrilled by the performance of Team USA at the Tokyo Games –- and couldn't be more proud of the way they carried themselves," said Susanne Lyons, chair of the USOPC. "These Games are one for the history books."

About 30 kilometres into the men’s marathon in Sapporo on Sunday, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge pulled away from the pack and began running his own race, chasing immortality. Kipchoge looked like a man determined to run towards his legacy of greatness. He took a peek behind him at one point and there was no one there. He was all alone - the greatest marathon runner in history and one of the greatest Olympians. PHOTO: AFP