The Olympic Games have always been about numbers. After all, a motto of Citius, Altius, Fortius — faster, higher, stronger — doesn’t mean much without seconds, meters and pounds. How fast? How high? How strong?
For more than a year, though, a different set of numbers has come to dominate discussions about the Tokyo Games: rising coronavirus case counts, escalating risk factors, inadequate vaccination totals.
Despite those concerns, the Games are almost certain to go forward this summer: The latest evidence was the announcement on Monday that domestic spectators would be allowed to attend Olympic events at reduced capacities.