It has now been six months since it came to light that the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) was asserting different criteria from the Japan Mountaineering and Sports Climbing Association (JMSCA) regarding the selection of athletes to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
This threw Japan's efforts to assemble a team into turmoil, and there are currently no prospects for a resolution.
As the sports world struggles amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, it appears Japan's top medal hopefuls will have to shift into full-scale preparations ahead of the Games while also dealing with this serious problem.
Each country and region is allowed to send two men and two women to compete at the Olympics. Japan has basically chosen one athlete of each gender on a provisional basis, and the remaining man and woman will be selected in the days to come, the JMSCA said.
However, IFSC opposed the view saying, "Two of each gender are on the squad. We will not accept a totally new selection process." As a result, JMSCA took the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sports in November last year.
The CAS, which is headquartered in Switzerland, was scheduled to hold a hearing on the matter in April, but the pandemic pushed the calendar back and it has yet to hold proceedings.
Yoshio Ogata, the JMSCA executive director, expressed his frustration with the delay.
"There's nothing we can do right now," Ogata said with a sigh. "We can only wait [for the CAS decision]. But with the travel restrictions, how can there be [a hearing]?"
The JMSCA has provisionally selected Tomoa Narasaki, who won the men's title at the world championships last summer, and Akiyo Noguchi, who was second in the women's division.
However, the IFSC, which is the world governing body for the sport, announced that two other athletes' results had earned them the right to appear at the Games: Kai Harada, who was fourth among the men at worlds, and Miho Nonaka, who was fifth on the women's side.
The IFSC has not changed its stance even after the Games were pushed back.
JMSCA rules hold that the second male and female climbers are chosen after multiple selection meetings after the world championships, but that has been rendered invalid by the IFSC's move.
According to the JMSCA, rules for selecting athletes are established with the acknowledgment of the world body. It has criticized the IFSC's decision, which appeared in autumn last year, as "a one-sided change."
In any event, this situation is extremely tough on the athletes, who are the victims in the matter.
Nonaka couldn't hide her dissastisfaction when asked about her uncertain situation at a competition in February, saying: "Enough is enough. Thinking about the selection process stresses me out. I just want to focus on getting good results at upcoming competitions."
Said Japan national team coach Hiroshi Yasui: "I don't want my athletes to devote energy to matters other than competition, but it's a fact that this is causing confusion."
Climbers are still dealing with the mental burden of the situation. Whichever way the CAS decision goes, there is still the possibility of an appeal.
As the case drags on, the road to the Olympics remains clouded and the path is difficult to see.
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