All the calamities that have befallen the Olympics before it has even started, including a plague of oysters, a bullying scandal, and a runaway weightlifter
- The Tokyo Olympics officially open on Friday with the opening ceremony.
- Even before the games have begun, though, they have been beset by a number of calamities.
- Read on to see incidents including a loose bear, a plague of oysters, and a bullying scandal.
The Tokyo Olympic Games officially kick off after Friday's opening ceremony.
Even before they have started though, the games have been beset by a number of calamities. Read on to see a selection of what has gone wrong so far.
A wild bear was spotted on a softball field and remains on the loose.
A local police spokesperson confirmed that an Asian black bear was seen on Azuma Sports Park's softball field on both Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, just hours before a game between Japan and Australia.
"We couldn't find or capture the bear, and while there won't be any spectators at the stadium, we are on alert and searching for the bear around the site," the spokesperson said.
Fortunately, the match went ahead without any bear-related interruptions.
The bear's whereabouts remains unknown.
An Australian athlete was suspended after testing positive for cocaine.
Show jumper Jamie Kermond, who was preparing for his first Olympic Games, returned a positive result for a metabolite of cocaine in a sample taken late last month.
The 36-year-old was provisionally suspended pending a further test by Equestrian Australia, ruling him out of the Games — for now, at least.
In a statement, Kermond admitted the positive result was from a "single recreational use" of the drug during a social event.
A Ugandan weightlifter fled training because he didn't want to return to his country.
Julius Ssekitoleko, 20, fled his hotel last Friday, leaving behind his luggage and a note saying he didn't want to return to Uganda after the Games had finished.
He was found in Yokkaichi, a little over 100 miles east of where he and his team had been training, on Wednesday.
Six swimmers had to be sent home because of an admin error.
Polish swimmers Alicja Tchorz, Bartosz Piszczorowicz, Aleksandra Polanska, Mateusz Chowaniec, Dominika Kossakowska, and Jan Holub had all been named as relay-only swimmers in Poland's 23-strong team for the Games.
But upon arrival to Japan, they were almost immediately sent home.
A statement from the Polish Swimming Federation (PZP) stated that an error had resulted in too many swimmers being named in its squad.
The swimmers sent home were understandably furious.
"Imagine dedicating five years of your life and striving for another start at the most important sporting event, giving up your private life and work, sacrificing your family and your dedication results in a total flop," said Tchorz.
Another swimmer was forced to withdraw because her carer wasn't allowed to travel with her.
Paralympian swimmer Becca Meyers suffers from Usher syndrome, which has caused her to go deaf and blind.
After winning three gold medals at Rio 2016, she was set to star again in Tokyo.
However, she was forced to drop out last minute because her mother, who also serves as her Personal Care Assistant (PCA), will not be allowed to travel with her to Japan.
Meyers says the United States Olympics & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has blocked her from taking her own PCA "because there will be a single PCA on staff that will be available to assist [herself] and 33 other Paralympic swimmers."
The Games' rowing and canoe venue was overrun by oysters.
Last month it was revealed that the venue needed $1.28 million in emergency repairs back in September due to an onslaught of oysters.
The 14 tons worth of oysters had attached themselves to floating safety barriers which had been placed around the water, causing them to sink.
"We did not consider consuming them," an official said. "That would entail safety checks. More important is that we do not want to grow oysters but work to contain them."
Tokyo Bay smells "like a toilet."
That's according to one athlete who will be competing at the Bay, which will host the swimming portions of the Olympic triathlons.
The smell in the water is a strong indication of recent sewage or animal waste contamination and harmful E. Coli levels, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Tokyo doesn't have separate drainage systems for rainwater and sewage.
Inclusive swimming caps designed for natural hair were banned.
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) rejected an application to certify products from the Black-owned brand Soul Cap for competition swimming.
FINA said it would not permit the swim caps because competing athletes "never used, neither require to use, caps of such size and configuration."
FINA has since apologized for its rejecting the brand, but said its products still can't be used in Tokyo.
Athletes moaned about the beds in the Olympic Village.
The beds at the village have frames made of cardboard and will be recycled at the end of the summer.
Some outlets reported that they were specially designed to only hold the weight of one person in an attempt to stop athletes having sex, but that theory was soon debunked.
US skateboarder Nyjah Huston called them "hard," while New Zealand soccer player Ali Riley joked that you could make one from "Amazon packages."
Sweden's Zecira Musovic said of the beds: "Really good for the environment, will be interesting to see if my back benefit from it as well."
A composer for the opening ceremony resigned.
Keigo Oyamada, 52, stepped down after an old interview of him confessing to horrific bullying of his disabled schoolmates came to light.
Oyamada said in a 1995 interview that when he was at school he once forced a boy with an intellectual disability to eat his own feces and masturbate in front of other school children.
The opening ceremony's show director was also fired.
Kentaro Kobayashi was removed over antisemitic jokes he made on TV during the 1990s.
Kobayashi mocked the Holocaust in a skit, referring to the event as a "let's massacre Jewish people game."
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the Holocaust joke made by Kobayashi was "inexcusable."
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