Olympics-'Fight!': Japan cheerleaders root for athletes as Games set to
open
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[July 22, 2021]
By Chris Gallagher
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese cheerleaders danced and waved pom poms
outside a Tokyo train station on Thursday to show their support for
Olympic athletes the day before the pandemic-postponed Summer Games
finally get underway.
"Let's support them with all our strength!" head cheerleader Kumi
Asazuma shouted to passers-by outside Shimbashi Station as the
four-person squad clapped and kicked their legs to the beat of Tony
Basil's 1980's classic "Hey Mickey".
Squad members held up signs saying "To all athletes", "Fight!", and
"Tokyo 2020" with an image of the Olympic rings, as they performed
in the blazing sun with temperatures already topping 30 degrees
Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) before 9 a.m.
The group from the All Japan Cheer Organisation performs regularly
outside rail stations in the Tokyo area to lift the spirits of
morning commuters, but Asazuma said they wanted to give a special
performance on the eve of the Games' opening ceremony.
"The Olympics and Paralympics are really once every four years, this
time they've been delayed by a year and a lot has happened, but they
open tomorrow and we wanted to give our support," Asazuma told
Reuters after the performance.
"There may not be spectators in the venues but we want to send the
message that 'everyone around the world is rooting for you,'" she
said.
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Cheerleaders from the "All Japan Cheer
Organization" perform in protective masks due to COVID-19, to cheer
people up in front of Shimbashi Station, one day before the start of
the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan July 22, 2021 REUTERS/Androniki
Christodoulou
Spectators are barred from most events
and Tokyo is under a state of emergency as COVID-19 cases surge in
the capital.
Foot traffic by the station was thin on Thursday as it was a
national holiday but a handful of people stopped and braved the heat
to watch the cheerleaders.
"I see them trying hard in this environment so watching them makes
me want to do my best also," said Takanori Okada, 45, who is
self-employed.
Some competitions already started on Wednesday including softball
and soccer. The Tokyo Olympics run through Aug. 8, and the
Paralympics are scheduled from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5.
(Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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