COVID-19 and the Olympics: What it was like covering the 2020 games during the pandemic

The Olympic flame burns during the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

TORONTO -

The 2020 Olympics—which took place in July 2021 due to COVID-19—was the first major international in-person event to take place during the pandemic.

Thousands of athletes, coaches and journalists flew into Tokyo while the city was under a state-of-emergency in order to take part in the two-week games.

On this week’s episode of Life Unmasked, the team speaks with two journalists who stood on the sidelines of history, attending an Olympic Games without spectators and stringent COVID-19 protocols. First, CP24's Kayla-Marie Tracy talks about wrestling with whether or not to accept the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity while she was pregnant and what it was like covering her all-time favourite sports.

CTV News’ Joy Malbon then joins the team to talk about how different this year was from previous Olympics she’s attended, what the quarantine process was like and how the athletes “saved the day.”

This is the Life Unmasked’s last episode of season 1. The podcast will return in a few weeks, airing first on the iHeart app before becoming available on other streaming platforms.

If you have questions for the podcast team, or an idea for season 2, please email [e-mail].