With most venues devoid of spectators during the Olympics, it fell upon the athletes to support each other.
Their applause, shouts of encouragement and joyful embraces became the soundtrack of the Tokyo Olympics, serving to emphasize the unusual shift in focus for this year’s event from the usual sensory-overloaded fanfare to simply sports and those who compete in them.
Under normal circumstances, Olympic venues would have been packed with visitors from around the world, creating a riot of color and sound that decorated front pages and leads newsreels.