The bulk of the Spanish delegation, with 221 people, marched this Saturday towards Tokyo to participate in the Olympic Games, an appointment for which they had to wait another year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and a few extra hours of delay in the flight.
The Iberia company reported in the afternoon that the second flight of the Olympic team to the Japanese capital (the first left on Thursday with another 130 members of the delegation) was not going to be able to leave at 4:25 p.m., as scheduled. The seven-hour delay was due to excess weight and high temperatures.
In particular, the problem was “the high weight of sports teams”, close to 27.000 kilos, to which were added the temperatures of more than 40ºC that he was doing in the afternoon in Madrid. Therefore, the company, in coordination with the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), decided to delay the flight until it finally departed at 11:12 p.m. with expected arrival at 12 noon peninsular time Spanish on the 18th.
During those seven hours, the Spanish Olympic team was able to rest in the Premium Lounge Velázquez in T4SWhile he did not lose his smile, some athletes were entertaining each other, in a kind of unexpected Olympic Village in Barajas.
Through social networks, the Olympians uploaded photos with colleagues from other disciplines and showed how they made time during the wait. Someone, like the triathlete Fernando Alarza, was running around the terminal as one more training.
“Our Olympic team is extraordinary. A true luxury. The reaction of the entire delegation to today’s long wait at the airport is worthy of admiration. Thank you athletes, technicians and the entire Spanish delegation for always being an example for everyone, “he wrote in his Twitter Alejandro Blanco, president of the COE, at the head of the expedition together with Victoria Cabezas, general secretary.
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