(ATR) IOC Coordination Commission member Kirsty Coventry said to Around the Rings working groups are finding that organizers are ahead of schedule in preparations for Tokyo 2020.
Coventry was promoting the "Mina No Medaru" (Everybody’s medals) program organized by Tokyo 2020 when she spoke to reporters. The program recycles old cell phones in Japan to be used in the production of the 2020 Olympic medals. Coventry became the latest Olympic athlete to donate to the program today.
"The smaller working groups really allow people to dive into things and to have really good honest communications," Coventry said to ATR. "Tokyo 2020 is doing an amazing job so it actually became hard sometimes because things were ahead of schedule.
"For me some of the high points this morning were really seeing the empowerments to the athletes in regards to promoting the Games in giving feedback in service levels."
Working groups today focused on sports and international federations, spectators, media, the Aomi Urban Cluster, the Paralympics, and the Olympic family. The fourth IOC Tokyo 2020 Coordination Commission will conclude on June 30.
Coventry encouraged the Japanese population to donate as many discarded cell phones as possible to gain a personal attachment to the upcoming Olympic Champions. She said that with a constant stream of "new Apple and Samsung phone" models there must be enough discarded ones in Japan.
To promote the program, Coventry was joined by Hanae Ito, a Japanese Olympian now working for Tokyo 2020. Coventry and Ito swam against one another in the 100m backstroke final at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Tokyo 2020 started the "Mina No Medaru" project in April aiming to collect obsolete and discarded phones. Collection boxes can be found at local government offices and 2400 NTT DOCOMO stores around Japan.
"Thank you to the media that are here and covering this story because this will promote what the project is trying to achieve and athletes around Japan will also be promoting it," Coventry said. "I think if we can all share that kind of one voice on the project. and sending in your phone is going to go to an Olympian."
Written by Aaron Bauer in Tokyo
25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.