Olympic athletes to put on own medals at Tokyo ceremonies
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach also said handshakes and hugs will be prohibited.
Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics will put their medals around their own necks to protect against spreading the coronavirus.
The “very significant change” to traditional medal ceremonies in the 339 events was revealed by International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.
“The medals will not be given around the neck,” Bach told international media on a conference call from Tokyo.
“They will be presented to the athlete on a tray and then the athlete will take the medal him or herself.”
He added: “It will be made sure that the person who will put the medal on tray will do so only with disinfected gloves so that the athlete can be sure that nobody touched them before.”
The Olympic approach is different to football in Europe where Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has personally hung medals around the necks of players at competition finals in recent weeks.
Donnarumma’s save in a penalty shootout clinched the title for Italy against England.
Mr Bach confirmed on Wednesday that in Tokyo “there will be no shake hands and there will be no hugs there during the ceremony.”
Olympic medals are typically presented by an IOC member or a leading official in a sport’s governing body.
The IOC had previously said medallists and ceremony officials would have to wear masks.
The Tokyo Olympics open July 23 in a state of emergency and rising numbers of Covid-19 cases in the city.
