ABSTRACT
On 7 September 2013 the International Olympic Committee voted at a general meeting in Buenos Aires to hold the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The main reason for Tokyo’s selection was its ability to provide an optimal setting in which Olympic athletes can gather and compete. Tokyo towered over the other candidates in evaluations with respect to safety, efficiency, and operational reliability. Tokyo’s effective presentation to the IOC general meeting was an added point in its favour. Paralympic long jumper Masumi Sato left a particularly deep impression with her account of the vital role athletics had played in helping her overcome disability and disaster – ‘saved by sport’ was how she put it.
