Tokyo 2020 – Your Guide To The Olympic Games

It’s a year later than initially planned, but the 32nd Olympic Games gets underway today from Tokyo, with the best athletes in the world battling it out for a place on the podium.

Despite the Japanese capital being under a state of emergency as a result of the pandemic, the games are going ahead without any fans for the next two weeks.

Here’s a quick history lesson about the Olympics if you’re a first-timer:

• The first Olympic Games took place in the 8th century B.C. in Olympia, Greece.
• The Olympic Flame is always lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia.
• Women have been allowed to compete in the Olympic since 1900.
• The five rings of the Olympic symbol represent the five inhabited continents of the world.
• The six colours were chosen because every nation’s flag contains at least one of them.

So that’s the history covered, what about this summer?

• The Games will feature 339 events in 33 different sports, encompassing a total of 50 disciplines.
• For the first time, surfing, sport climbing, skateboarding, baseball and karate are Olympic sports.
• Tokyo was chosen to host the in September 2013, beating Istanbul and Madrid.
• The official motto for Tokyo 2020 is “United by Emotion.”
• Japan’s newly renovated 80,000 seat national stadium will host the ceremonies and athletics.

What countries will be participating?

There will be 206 states involved in this year’s Olympic Games.

• 193 UN Member States
• 9 Dependent Territories
• 2 partially recognized states (Kosovo and Taiwan)
• 1 UN Observer State (Palestine)
• 1 almost-independent state (The Cook Islands)

What do we know about Team Canada?

• For the first time, two athletes will march with the Canadian flag at the opening ceremony.
• Basketballer Miranda Ayim and rugby’s Nathan Hirayama have the honour of leading the team.
• This year, 371 athletes will represent Team Canada, the biggest team since 1984.
• The athletes will be joined by 131 coaches.
• This will be the first time Canada has a men’s rugby sevens team at the Olympic Games.

Canadians to keep an eye on:

• Penny Oleksiak – Swimming – 4 Olympic medals (1 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze)
• Andre De Grasse – Athletics – 3 Olympic medals (1 Silver, 2 Bronze)
• Rosie MacLennan – Trampoline – 2 Olympic medals (2 Gold)
• Christine Sinclair – Soccer – 2 Olympic medals (2 Bronze)
• Damian Warner – Athletics – 1 Olympic medal (1 Bronze)

Provincial and territorial breakdown of Canadian athletes by hometown:

• Ontario – 171
• British Columbia – 95
• Quebec – 58
• Alberta – 28
• Nova Scotia – 8
• Manitoba – 5
• Saskatchewan – 3
• New Brunswick – 1
• Athletes with hometowns outside Canada – 2
• Newfoundland and Labrador – 0
• Northwest Territories – 0
• Nunavut – 0
• Prince Edward Island – 0
• Yukon – 0

Where can I watch Tokyo 2020 in Canada?

CBC and partners TSN and Sportsnet will broadcast 3,775 hours of Olympic coverage, which includes streaming options such as CBC Gem, cbc.ca/tokyo2020 and the CBC Olympics app, with CBC TV, CBC News Network and CBC Radio also providing wide coverage.

Five surprising facts about the Olympic Games:

• The youngest Olympian in the modern era is Greek gymnast Dimitrios Loundras, who competed in the 1896 Athens Olympics at the age of 10.
• Only five countries have been represented at every modern era Summer Olympic Games – Greece, Great Britain, France, Switzerland and Australia.
• Johnny Weissmuller, an athlete-turned-actor who played Tarzan in 12 movies, won five gold medals in swimming in the 1920s.
• Muhammad Ali was terrified of flying, so he wore a parachute during his flight to the 1960 games in Rome.
• The materials of the beds and bedframes in the Olympic Village in Tokyo are made out of reusable materials.