Tokyo Olympics 2020 | Taboo in Tokyo, tattoos on display at Olympics
For a country where tattoos remain stigmatised and those sporting them are banned from beaches, gyms, pools and elsewhere, Japan, especially Tokyo, is seeing them in abundance. Olympic rings are the hot favourites among inked athletes
Associated Press
July 27, 2021 / 13:51 IST
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Taboo in much of Tokyo, tattoos are everywhere at the Olympics. (Image: AP)
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There’s the lion on British swimmer Adam Peaty’s shoulder. An inspirational message on the arm of Chinese 3-on-3 basketball player Yan Peng. A likeness of Christ the Redeemer on the calf of Spanish boxer Gabriel Escobar Mascunano. (Image: AP)
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And the Olympic rings. So many Olympic rings. (Image: AP)
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French swimmer Fantine Lasaffre has them on her left forearm, and American shooter Kayle Browning on her right wrist. They’re on Moroccan boxer Abdelhaq Nadir’s left bicep, and on the ankle of Canadian gymnast Shallon Olsen. (Image: AP)
Italian gymnast Vanessa Ferrari has them, too, on the back of her neck—along with ink commemorating previous trips to the Beijing, London and Rio de Janiero Games. (Image: AP)
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Athletes won't be mingling much with the locals at these pandemic-restricted Olympics. If they did, they may not have found their body art welcome. Tattoos remain stigmatised in Japan, where those with them are commonly banned from beaches, gyms, pools and elsewhere around Japan. (Image: AP)
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No such restrictions in the Olympic bubble, though. In the pool, on the beach, at the range — the athletes are redefining what it means to have the mark of a champion. (Image: AP)
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Kaylee Mckeown of Australia leaves the pool after her heat in the women's 100-meter backstroke at the 2020 Summer Olympics, July 25, in Tokyo, Japan. (Image: AP)
Morocco's Abdelhaq Nadir, right, blocks a punch by Mauritius' Louis Richamo Colin during their men's lightweight 63kg boxing match at the 2020 Summer Olympics, July 24, in Tokyo, Japan. (Image: AP)
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A swimmer gestures during a training session at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre venue for the swimming competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics, July 25, in Tokyo, Japan. (Image: AP)
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Nyjah Huston of the United States competes in the men's street skateboarding at the 2020 Summer Olympics, July 25, in Tokyo, Japan. (Image: AP)
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A tattoo decorates the back of Argentina's Rodrigo Isgro as he walks off the field after a men's rugby sevens practice at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in Tokyo, July 23. (Image: AP)
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Spain's Gabriel Escobar Mascunano during his fight with Argentina's Ramon Nicanor Quiroga at the 2020 Summer Olympics, July 26, in Tokyo, Japan. (Image: AP)
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A swimmer walks on the pool deck before racing at the Tokyo Aquatic Center at the 2020 Summer Olympics, July 25, in Tokyo, Japan. (Image: AP)
