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TOKYO — The Tokyo Olympics ended Sunday with a scaled-down closing ceremony that was decidedly more joyful than the subdued opener.
Here are 10 things to know before it airs on television Sunday night in the U.S. (7 p.m., NBC).
1. Tokyo is still under a state of emergency.
The party is taking place as Tokyo confirmed 4,066 new cases of COVID-19, exceeding 4,000 cases for the fifth straight day. That’s 1,008 more cases than the previous Sunday.
Organizers were unhappy with the athletes who didn’t wear masks during the opening ceremony. After this closing ceremony-turned-selfie convention, they’ll be even more upset.
The maskless faces during the opening belonged to people from just a few countries. At the closing, however, athletes from all over the world — including the United States — shed their face masks at times.
2. The International Olympic Committee says the Games didn’t cause the spike.
As Tokyo’s numbers rose, the IOC announced it had performed 624,364 COVID-19 tests since July 1. Of those, 138 resulted in confirmed cases, a positivity rate of of .02%.
Of the more than 42,600 airport screenings done, 37 came back positive for a positivity rate less than .09%.
“You, the best athletes of the world, could only make your Olympic dream come true because Japan prepared the stage for you to shine,” IOC President Thomas Bach said during the closing ceremony.
3. The American flag bearer is Team USA’s feel-good story of the ceremony.
Javelin thrower Kara Winger was selected by her fellow athletes to carry the U.S. flag after competing in her fourth Olympics. A Purdue graduate, Winger finished 17th here and has never placed higher than 13th at a Summer Games.
“In all of my disappointment, I’ve always just tried to lift others up and celebrate their successes,” she said. “It’s been such an honor to be on the periphery of all those medals over so many years. I feel very seen and very cared for to be in this position. It’s a huge honor that I’ll never top.”
Kara Winger competes in qualifications for the women’s javelin throw at the 2020 Summer Olympics on Aug. 3, 2021, in Tokyo. (Matthias Schrader/AP)
Winger said she hopes the role — which often, but not always, goes to an athlete who reached the podium — shows that moral victories can mean just as much as medals.
“I’m so amazed to have been surrounded by legends for my whole career,” she said. “This Olympics is special because it feels like maybe the United States can recognize that the Olympic spirit is participation.”
4. A role Jasmine Quinn-Camacho.
Hurdler Jasmine Quinn-Camacho, who set an Olympic record en route to a gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles, appeared on stage with Bach as he closed the Games. She was selected to represent North American athletes, a fitting role given her backstory.
Born in the continental United States, Quinn-Camacho competes for Puerto Rico because her mother is from there. She received several congratulatory tweets from the Chicago Bears during the Olympics because her brother Robert is a linebacker with the team.
Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn celebrates her gold medal in the women’s 100-meter hurdles on Aug. 2, 2021 at Olympic Stadium during the Tokyo Olympics. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
5. Will it come Bach to haunt him?
In his closing remarks, Bach reminded everyone that the Olympics brought people together in a way that they’ve tried to avoid since March 2020. While it’s still too early to determine whether the Games will be a superspreader event, the IOC president clearly opened himself up to further blame if it does.
“For the first time since the pandemic began, the entire world came together,” he said. “Sport returned to center stage. Billions of people around the globe were united by emotion, sharing moments of joy and inspiration. This gives us hope. This gives us faith in the future.”
6. A scaled-back party.
Just like the opening ceremony, each country’s delegation is smaller than usual because of COVID-19 restrictions. Athletes were required to leave the village with 48 hours of finishing their competitions, which means most of them are long gone.
In fact, the remaining athletes could not fill the stadium’s infield once they were all inside. Whatever the camera angles show during the prime-time broadcast, there were large sections of unoccupied turf.
Organizers held up signs during the ceremony encouraging athletes to wave and mug for the camera.
This will shock no one, but the Americans very enthusiastically complied.
7. Women get the job done.
The win awarded United States its 39th gold medal at the Games, pushing it ahead of China in the medal count. The Americans will take home a total of 113 medals, which is far better than any other country but slightly fewer than the 121 won in Rio.
Fittingly, the volleyball team was able to make it to the stadium in time for the closing ceremony.
8. La Marseillaise in space.
As the French national anthem played during the traditional flag handover ceremony, the final notes came from saxophonist/astronaut Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency. Pesquet embarked on his second mission to the International Space Station in April 2021 and is scheduled to come back to earth in early November after more than six months in space.
Organizers also had planned to use Eiffel Tower as a massive flag bearer for the Paris 2024 standard but scrapped the plans because of weather concerns. TV viewers are expected to be shown a test run done in early June instead.
9. So we’re really doing this?
In keeping with tradition, Paris — the next host country — was given a segment during the ceremony to stoke excitement for the 2024 Games.
Rather than an in-stadium show, they aired live video of an Olympic celebration in front of the Eiffel Tower. The piece included a breakdancing performance, a nod to the sport’s — if we must call it that — Olympic debut at the next Games.
10. No oiled-up Tongans.
Tonga did not designate a flag bearer because all of its athletes have returned home in keeping with pandemic protocols.
He is, of course, not wearing a shirt in the video.
