THE Tokyo Olympics are finally here, yet the backlash against the Games has barely subsided. 

Numerous polls have shown over the past weeks and months that the majority of the Japanese public want the Olympics and Paralympics either postponed once more, or cancelled completely. 

But Dame Kath Grainger, Britain’s most successful female Olympian and chair of UK Sport, is confident not only that the decision to allow the Games to go ahead despite the world, and Japan in particular, still being in the throes of the global Covid pandemic, is the correct one, but that they absolutely should go ahead. 

“Everything we’re being told is that the Games will go ahead so the important thing is how it goes ahead. 

“It’s crucial that every safety measure is in place and every person there feels safe and secure,” the Glasgow-born former rower says. 

“There’s been a long lead-up to this point and so with everything that’s gone on, it’d be such a relief for the Olympics to take place.  

“This could be a really big thing for the world, as long as it’s done in the best way it can and is very respectful of all the safety protocols.  

“As long as that happens, I think it can be a really positive thing.” 

At Olympic and Paralympic level, British sport has experienced its most successful decade ever. 

London 2012 saw the host nation finish third in both the Olympic and Paralympic medal tables in what was described by many as Team GB’s “most successful Games ever”.  

And four years later, GB did the unthinkable; it improved on its performance at its home Games, which was unprecedented. 

Mindful of that success, UK Sport set optimistic targets for Tokyo 2020, with whispers they were even hopeful of bettering Rio’s tally of 67 medals. 

However, the turmoil caused by Covid has forced everyone, Grainger and her UK Sport colleagues included, to reset and the 45-year-old admits there is far less certainty about potential success, as well as an acknowledgement of the perhaps even more important goal of ensuring the British team remain safe and healthy whilst in Japan. 

“Of all Olympics, this is the hardest to predict. For previous Olympics, all predictions have been based on a year of build-up of qualification events and we just haven’t had that this time. So how we’ll do is pretty impossible to say,” says Grainger, who was part of the recent launch of 'From Home 2 to the Games', an initiative all about inspiring kids to explore their potential in sport. 

“Preparation has been as good as it could have been given the situation we’re in. 

“But a big measure of success this year will be if can we get a whole team there, competing and then home safely and if we do that, that’s a win in itself.” 

Failing to build on the success of London and Rio would not necessarily be seen as failure, regardless of the disruption caused by Covid. 

In recent years, numerous concerns have been raised about athlete welfare and the damage caused by the success-trumps-everything mentality that was beginning to engulf elite sport in this country. 

Grainger has first-hand experience of the system that was focused solely on medals and it did her well; Olympic gold, four Olympic silvers plus six world titles is a testament to the success such an approach can bring but in her role as head of UK Sport, she is well aware that times have changed and that more thought must be given to the care of the athlete as an individual rather than purely their performance in the sporting arena. 

“Rather than this being a change of direction for us, it’s more an evolution. I really benefitted from the focus on performance and achievement of the previous system and that’s still at the heart of what we do,” she says. 

“But post-Rio, we started to hear voices saying ‘yes there’s been brilliant success, but has it been done in the right way?’ 

“I think it was very important those voices were heard and so we talked about things could be done better. 

“The pursuit of excellence should be a positive experience, even if it’s very tough and in some cases, it clearly wasn’t positive and we had to address that and respond to that. 

“Not every athlete is going to get the results they wanted but they can still feel like it’s been a worthwhile time spent. Elite sport might not always be enjoyable but you at least want to feel it’s been valuable in your life.  

“So when you hear that some athletes haven’t felt like that, things need to change.” 

Grainger will travel to Tokyo with Team GB next month but she is well aware that sitting on the sidelines for the first time in over two decades will be something of a strange experience for her. 

The last time the Olympics took place without Grainger competing was Atlanta 1996 and she admits that had Tokyo gone ahead as planned last summer, she would likely have felt somewhat emotional about no longer being in the thick of things, fighting for medals. 

However, the postponement has allowed her to process those feelings and she is confident she has far too much to worry about this summer to feel nostalgic about her time as an athlete. 

“Last year, when the Games were going ahead as planned, I was thinking that on a personal level, it would be pretty hard to be on the sidelines watching and I really didn’t know how I’d feel,” she says. 

“But a year on, so much has happened and I feel like I’ve moved on emotionally. Now I’m just thinking about getting people there safely and looking after people’s welfare. 

“So with everything that’s gone on, it’s given me a different focus, which is probably a good thing.”  

Potential athletes can join From Home 2 The Games by completing three simple challenges and submitting their results at www.FromHome2TheGames.com