The triathlon was forced to begin at 6.30 am on Monday and Wednesday to avoid the scorching mid-day sun but that did not stop gold medal-winner Kristian Blummenfelt from vomiting with heat exhaustion as he collapsed over the finish line.
The typhoon is likely to bring temperatures down temporarily but the Japanese government faces rising public anxiety about mounting coronavirus infections.
Tokyo has now gone eight consecutive days with COVID-19 infections above 1000, adding 2848 on Tuesday, double Mondays figures and the highest ever, according to government figures.
Spectators, shut out from Olympic venues, have been lining up along streets to catch a glimpse of cyclists and triathletes, while restaurants and bars continue to flout alcohol and opening restrictions.
Tokyos Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health said on Tuesday that people in their 20s and 30s accounted for more than half of the total cases. Vaccination doses in the country of 126 million has now reached 79.38 million people, most of whom are over 50.
The number of infected people has remained high and the infection is spreading, a spokeswoman said. The Olympic Games are happening every day but we ask you that you watch them at home and cheer for the athletes.
In the Olympic bubble, seven more Games personnel, including two athletes tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. The total number of infections connected to the Games has now passed 150.
Australian medical officer Jason Patchell chases an umbrella down Tsurigasaki beach in typhoon conditions on day four of the Tokyo Olympics surfing competition.Credit:Getty Images
The growing number of cases has created an ongoing political threat for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga who had hoped the spectacle would unite the nation behind his government.
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Suga, who faces an election by October, recorded the worst approval rating in almost a decade of any Japanese prime minister. A Nikkei/TV Tokyo poll released on Monday found the 72-year-old had fallen 9 percentage points to 34 per cent since June.
The public dissatisfaction was mirrored across three of Japans other major media outlets, the Asahi Shimbun, NHK and Kyodo News.
Only one Japanese prime minister in the past two decades, Keizo Obuchi, has survived more than a year after recording such a low approval rating.
Sugas party, the Liberal Democratic Party, has been in power almost continuously since the 1950s but leaders have conventionally resigned when polling reaches below 40 per cent.
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