Both are present in Paris for the test event of the Paris 2024 Games. They are very attentive to the details that will make the Olympic tournament a long-awaited success, next year.
"We are all wishing for a happy path through the Games next year and for that we need to test everything that can go wrong and then have solutions for all the problems. That is exactly the reason why we have such a test event," said Dr Lisa Allan.
The devil is in the details and we saw in the morning what happens when an athlete doesn't turn up at the tatami, which the IJF technical staff know perfectly how to handle. We also saw what happens when the referee faints on the tatami. This might sound trivial but it is important to know what to do at the right moment. All is good for the referee though as it was only a test.
"It's a very important event. We are looking for the best way to collaborate with the local organising committee, Omega and Atos for the scoring, the IOC and France Judo. Our main focuses are the flow of the competition, the medical issues and the timing and scoring," said Claudiu Chimoiu.
The test is not over yet but some conclusions can already be drawn. "We are very confident. Everybody knows their job. France is a great organiser and so far everything went very smoothly," explained both Lisa and Claudiu.
The months to come will be helpful to analyse in detail all the aspects of the test event, to which will be added many other sectors such as protocol and media. For the time being, we can say, 'so far so good.’