We feel for Mr Dejour Russell and others who are training hard, giving it their all, with a view to making the Jamaica team for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. The Games were postponed from last year because of COVID-19, and are now scheduled to start in late July.

Now 20 years old, Mr Russell, a former schoolboy star and 110-metre hurdles gold medallist at the 2017 World Athletics Under-18 Championships in Kenya, tells us training is going very well under the guidance of Mr Fitz Coleman.

“My expectation for the season is to really stay injury-free, make it to the Olympics, and by the grace of God, get an Olympic medal, because this is what I am training this hard for,” says Mr Russell.

We suspect, though, that Mr Russell and fellow athletes are concerned at the continuing surge of COVID-19 and persistent reports that the Olympics could be scrapped because of it.

Still, all sports lovers will be taking heart from the outright rejection in Japan and from the International Olympic Committee of the latest news report — originating in London — that the Japanese Government has concluded the Games will have to be cancelled.

News outlets in Japan quote that country’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Mr Manabu Sakai as saying, “We would like to fully deny [the newspaper report] …”

We hear that the Japanese prime minister, Mr Yoshihide Suga, has told Parliament that his Government is “considering specific anti-virus measures” to ensure that the Olympics Games — expected to cost well in excess of US$15 billion — are held.

And, IOC executive Mr John Coates says normal discussions and arrangements are ongoing towards Japan’s hosting of the Olympics and that he has had no word from Japanese authorities to suggest a change of mind.

We note a ringing endorsement of Japan’s capacity to host the Games, despite the pandemic, from Mr Matt Carroll of the Australian Olympic Committee. Said he: “If any country can handle a logistical challenge, it is Japan…”

Still, for all of that, it has to be noted that according to polls, a huge majority of the Japanese people currently believe the country would be better off if the Olympic Games are postponed. We are not so naive to believe Japan’s Government would simply ignore popular opinion.

Organisers have already said there will be no further postponements. In other words, if the Games can’t be held in Tokyo this year, it will be cancelled. That’s what happened more than seven decades ago because of World War II and just under three decades before that, because of World War I.

Ultimately, it seems to us, a lot will depend on the degree of confidence as a result of anti-virus vaccination campaigns globally, and more especially in Japan, over the next few months.

That said, athletes such as Mr Russell as well as their handlers, must not allow themselves to be taken off course, or allow doubts to hamper preparation. They must press ahead.