MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd May, 2021) Athletes are forced to queue for several minutes before using sports equipment during training sessions due to strict social distancing rules at FINA Diving World Cup in Tokyo.
International athletes competing in the World Cup share on social media footage from the long queue they have to wait in as part of the COVID-19 regulations introduced by the organizers.
"All athletes were lined up, signs were put up. I counted: an athlete had to stand for about 8 minutes in this queue before each jump today. Feet go numb over this time, and you still have to work with the springboard afterwards. This is not normal. Organizers need to think about this issue. About 60 divers will be jumping from the springboard. How will they warm up in an hour? There needs to be a division into groups or something. We have to avoid crowds," the head coach of the Russian national team Svetlana Moiseeva told Sputnik.
The World Cup is a qualification and test event for the Tokyo Olympics. The competitions are held at the Water Center, built specifically for the 2020 Games, which were postponed to 2021 because of the pandemic and are now scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8.
