Countdown to Tokyo: Olympic Stadium holds track and field test event

(KYMA, KECY/ NBC News) - Tokyo's Olympic Stadium held a track and field test event on Sunday with no fans in the stands.

Hundreds of athletes participated in the event, including American sprinter, Justin Gatlin. Gatlin was among nine athletes who traveled abroad to participate in the event. The 2004 gold medalist was the winner of Sunday's 100 meter event session.

Organizers used the test to fine-tune operations and Covid-19 precautions with less than three months to go before the Tokyo games begin.

Meanwhile, Tokyo remains under a state of emergency due to the rise in Coronavirus infections in Japan. Despite the state of emergency, organizers have held more than eleven test events since last month with no reported Covid cases resulting from them.

All of this while Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, spoke out this weekend about the growing opposition within the country to let the games play on. He insists that protecting the public's health during the pandemic has always been the priority but that the final decision is up to the International Olympic Committee and not him.