【导读】3月12日，2020年东京奥运会圣火采集仪式在希腊奥林匹亚赫拉神庙举行。因新冠肺炎疫情在全球范围内蔓延，希腊境内原本预定6天的圣火接力活动被中止，圣火交接仪式也没有观众到场，而在日本国内的圣火接力将于26日开始。
The Olympic flame lighting ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is held in Greece on March 12. XINHUA
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics doesn’t start until July, but officials are already taking precautions to protect athletes and fans amid the novel coronavirus.
虽然2020年东京奥运会7月才举行，但官员们已经采取了应对新冠肺炎的预防措施来保护运动员和观众。
On March 12, the Olympic torch lighting ceremony was the first to be held without spectators in more than 35 years due to the threat of COVID-19.
奥运圣火采集仪式于3月12日举行，受新冠肺炎疫情影响，这是35年来首次在没有观众到场的情况下进行圣火采集。
The iconic flame was lit in the ancient town of Olympia, Greece. This year, the Greek Olympic shooting champion Anna Korakaki became the first woman in history to launch the Olympic relay.
圣火在希腊的奥林匹亚古城被点燃。今年，希腊射击冠军安娜·克拉卡奇成为了奥运史上开始第一棒的首位女性火炬手。
During the torch’s traditional journey through Greece, it arrived in the Peloponnesian town of Sparta on March 13. Despite the country’s restrictions on public gatherings, hundreds of people attended the event to see this year’s notable torchbearers, including Hollywood actor Billy Zane and Scottish actor Gerard Butler.
奥运圣火按照传统路线在希腊境内进行传递，并于3月13日抵达伯罗奔尼撒南部城镇斯巴达。尽管希腊明令限制公众聚集，但仍有数百群众来到现场围观今年的名人火炬手们，比如好莱坞演员比利·赞恩、苏格兰演员杰拉德·巴特勒等。
The high turnout for the event forced Greece to cancel the Olympic flame’s remaining stops in other Greek cities.
现场大量群众聚集令希腊取消了境内其他城市的剩余火炬传递计划。
The handover of the torch to Japan took place in the Greek capital Athens on March 19 before being brought to Japan. Tokyo 2020 said that it would ensure the Olympic Torch Relay safely begins on March 26.
3月19日，奥运圣火交接仪式在希腊首都雅典举行，圣火接下来将会被送往日本。2020东京奥组委表示，将确保奥运圣火传递于3月26日安全举行。
Unsurprisingly, COVID-19 has also hugely affected Japan’s Olympic preparations and forced the postponement, cancellation or relocation of several qualifying tournaments.
不出所料，新冠肺炎疫情也对日本奥运会的筹备工作造成了严重影响，几项资格赛、预选赛也不得不延期、取消或者重新安排至其他地点举办。
However, both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo 2020 organizers are keen to press on with the event.
但国际奥林匹克委员会与2020东京奥组委依然在积极推进奥运会举办。
“We are strengthened in this commitment by the many authorities and sports organizations around the world who are taking so many significant measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus,” IOC president Thomas Bach said on March 12.
“全球许多政府部门以及体育组织都采取了大量有效措施来遏制新冠病毒传播，这坚定了我们举办奥运会的决心，”国际奥林匹克委员会主席托马斯·巴赫3月12日如此表示。
In a press release, the IOC also said, “Given the unprecedented circumstances the world is facing, the health and safety of the thousands of torchbearers, spectators and staff will be the first priority.”
在一份新闻稿中，国际奥委会还表示：“鉴于全球所面临的前所未有的情况，数千位火炬手、观众以及工作人员的健康和安全是我们最优先考虑的问题。”
As countries around the world are introducing stricter measures to quell the newly termed pandemic, it’s unclear whether these decisions will affect the Olympic Games. “It can’t be said that the announcement of a pandemic would have no impact ... but I think cancellation is unthinkable,” Tokyo’s governor Yuriko Koike told the Guardian.
世界各国都采取了更严格的措施来消除最近被称为大流行的疫情，而这些决定是否会影响奥运会举行目前尚未明确。“不能说宣布疫情‘大流行’毫无影响……但我认为取消奥运会是不可想象的，”东京都知事小池百合子在接受《卫报》采访时如此表示。
