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Tokyo 2020 Countdown Event "Everyone's Tokyo 2020: 4 Years to Go!!" Held
The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government held the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Countdown Event "Everyone's Tokyo 2020 4 Years to Go!!" at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on July 24th, exactly four years before the opening of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
On the special stage, guests included Yoshinao Miyake (weightlifting), gold medalist at the 1964 Tokyo and 1968 Mexico City Games; Masahiro Maezono (soccer), who competed at the 1996 Atlanta Games; and Aki Taguchi (shooting), who competed in the 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing, and 2012 London Paralympics. They delivered messages looking ahead to the Games four years from now.
Then, to rally everyone behind Tokyo 2020, the "Origami Crane Globe Monument Completion Ceremony" was held, featuring 2020 origami cranes. Origami cranes made by children from the Ota Ward Sports Youth Group and attendees were affixed to a globe shape, completing the colorful monument composed of five colors.
During the special talk show "Connecting Everyone's Brilliance," Miyake stated, "The entire nation was consumed by the Olympics for the 1964 Tokyo Games. We were told only gold medals would suffice, and the pressure was immense." In response, Ogihara, who placed fifth in the Nordic combined team event at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, "Only Miyake-senpai and I have competed in an Olympics held in Japan. The venues were completely covered in the Japanese flag—it was truly incredible. I want the young athletes not to be overwhelmed by that atmosphere." The next-generation athletes from the JOC Elite Academy, listening intently, renewed their determination: "We absolutely want to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Games."
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