In Tokyo, social platforms help the Pandemic Olympics shine

Leal trains during a street skateboarding practice session at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Japan. Leal of Brazil has 3.4 million followers on TikTok, half of her 6.5 million followers on Instagram. — AP

TOKYO: Skateboarder Jagger Eaton celebrated his bronze medal by broadcasting live on Instagram. Margielyn Didal “let” Tony Hawk take a picture with her to post on Facebook.

The stability of the cardboard framed beds in the athlete’s village has been tested by Olympians who treated them as trampolines on nearly every social media platform, and a Greek water polo player created a dating app – which might have come in handy for American rugby player Ilona Maher, who rolled with the schtick of the “Thirsty Olympian”.