Olympic Federation of Ireland chief executive Peter Sherrard has admitted that strict measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic will "minimise the athletes' experience" at Tokyo 2020, but is still looking forward to a Games where Ireland could field its largest ever team.
The Tokyo 2020 organising committee, the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government and the International Paralympic Committee, said in a joint statement on Thursday that they would "deploy all possible countermeasures and place the highest priority on safety".
Overseas spectators have already been barred from the Games, and a decision on domestic fans has been delayed until June, with organisers citing a new wave of infections in Japan.
In a bid to win public confidence, officials have released rulebooks mandating daily testing for athletes and limiting their movement.
However, there will be no quarantine required for athletes, and vaccines will not be mandatory.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Sherrard confirmed that Ireland currently have 58 athlete spots qualified, but that number could increase to "somewhere in the region of 80 to 100 athletes".
"There's some obvious things we've known for a while, such as limited access to the village – only arriving in five days before, having to depart 48 hours after – but in addition what we discovered yesterday was that the testing regime will be more severe than originally intended," he said.
"It was one test every four days, but it's now going to be daily PCR testing."
All athletes and staff intending to travel will have to get two negative PCR tests in the 96-hour window prior to departure and they will have to provide detailed information of their whereabouts during the 14 days leading up to that date.
Sherrard said there is also information about the possibility of in-room dining, which he welcomes, as it would limit athletes contact with others.
"It's trying to minimise risk at all stages," he said. "So within the athletes' village, there will be effectively a bubble operating. But we do know that, even with the best will in the world, because of the numbers involved statistically there will be some presence of disease within that village setting. So it's a question of trying to make sure that we're as prepared as possible to minimise the possibility of spread."
While athletes are likely to face an exacting Olympic environment this summer after a trying year, Sherrard believes they are well equipped to deal with the challenges they will face.
"It's been a big challenge and a big test of people's resilience, but I think the athletes have really shone through in that environment," he said.
"Part of an athlete's DNA is that resilience, and for every success that you see there are countless failures, and it's their ability to pick themselves up, learn from that and to continue and progress."
