Years of waiting, mismanagement, scandal and a pandemic all culminated in Japan having its best Olympics ever on the medal table, even though there were virtually no home fans in stadiums to enjoy the successes.Under the circumstances of a pandemic, athletes' smiles on podiums were hidden by masks and the streets of the host city were free of Olympic revelry.But amid the strangeness, there were highlights that showed the "Olympic spirit" might be more than a feel-good marketers' dream.Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, Gianmarco Tamberi from Italy and a masked high jump official together created …READ FULL ARTICLE
