Tokyo World Championships Seek To Replace Painful Olympic Memories

Last Updated:September 12, 2025, 18:51 IST

Yuko Arimori hopes the Tokyo world championships will erase memories of empty Olympic stands, uniting tens of thousands and celebrating the uplifting power of athletics.

World Athletics Championships will be held from Sept 13 to 21.

The head of Japanese athletics fought back tears on Friday as she expressed how the world championships in Tokyo could “wipe away" the painful memory of the empty stands at the Olympics four years ago.

The Tokyo Games were postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic and were held under strict conditions to prevent the spread of Covid, with most venues closed to fans and athletes subjected to tests and social distancing measures.

The world championships, starting on Saturday, will have no such restrictions, and tens of thousands of fans are expected to gather at Tokyo’s National Stadium, which can seat almost 70,000.

Japan Association of Athletics Federations president Yuko Arimori hoped the event would remind people of the value of sport.

“Sport isn’t just about the athletes but about everyone gaining energy from it and lifting each other up, and I think that kind of energy is important," she said.

“I think this event will help us wipe away the emotions we felt back then and remind us what sport should be like. Athletics is the mother of sports and I want people to take inspiration from it."

Arimori, a former marathon runner who won silver at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and bronze in Atlanta four years later, became emotional as she reflected on the competition’s significance.

“I’m so happy that the world’s media, top athletes from around the globe, and kids and fans from all over Japan will come to this stadium to support athletics and give us their energy," said Arimori.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said sport had “a unique ability" to bring people together.

“It’s the most potent social worker in all our communities," he said.

“It does it most effectively, probably more effectively than any other sector. It has the ability to touch the hearts and minds and lifestyles of young people in a way very few other sectors do."

Sports Desk

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