SAPPORO--Despite pleas from officials to stay at home due to the pandemic, spectators packed Sapporo’s streets, jostling for spots to catch a glimpse of the Tokyo Olympics’ 20-kilometer racewalk event.

Black curtains towering 1.8 meters high lined the sidewalks along a major Sapporo ekimae-dori street on Aug. 5. They were set up to block the view of nearby Sapporo Odori Park, where the race started and ended, from the public.

But it did not discourage approximately 40 people from flocking to a commercial building that faces the park.

At around 4:30 p.m. when the race kicked off, they occupied the second floor of the building, trying to peek inside the park.

“I have been determined to see the race from here since the course was announced,” said a company employee in his 30s who lives in the city.

After receiving a request from Hokkaido and Sapporo officials, the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games decided to call on people to refrain from watching the racewalk and marathon events along the courses.

Barricades were set up between the courses and sidewalks to prevent people from congregating.

Many staff were dispatched along the 1-km perimeter of the racewalk course to hold up signs urging people not to watch the race.

But still, spectators defied these measures and quickly spread along the course.

For the Sapporo company employee, the reason to come to see the race was simple.

“Because the Olympics have come to my hometown. I just wanted to see it, even if only for a little.”

Standing in front of the barricades, many people held up their mobile phones to capture the world-class racewalkers competing.

Nobody listened to the pleas from staffers to “keep walking and do not stand here.”

A local 36-year-old man came to see the race because he “wanted to see the Olympics in person.”

“I feel sorry for these staffers, but I'm not worried about the coronavirus much,” he said.

A 68-year-old man who came from Aichi Prefecture watched the race near the starting and ending points.

“This is an outdoor competition and the wind is blowing,” he said, not heeding the warnings.

The second half of the race became heated among the leading racewalkers, including two Japanese.

Spectators also worked up a sweat. They not only clapped hard, but some also took off their masks to loudly cheer on the walkers: “Go!”

A 65-year-old man who lives in the city said he understood officials’ concerns over the infection risks.

“But the Japanese athletes are competing here. I have every right to cheer them on,” he said.

A local 21-year-old man drinking a beer was also loudly cheering on the athletes.

“They are doing their best in this heat, so it’s impossible for me to not shout and cheer for them. I can’t say I’m scared of the coronavirus,” he said.

A 70-year-old woman lamented that the event should have been a fun and celebratory occasion.

“I came because I wanted to experience the atmosphere of the Olympics and see how racewalkers walk,” she said. “But because of the request to refrain from watching the race, I could not tell anyone that I was going. I came here alone. It should have been a fun experience. It is a shame that I have to watch it with a sense of guilt.”

A 72-year-old volunteer held up a sign near Sapporo Odori Park and urged spectators to stay off the streets.

“I told people, “Do not crowd together here because it is dangerous,’” he said. “Then I got chewed out by an elderly man who got angry and said, “It’s none of your business!’”

“I understand that they want to enjoy the Olympics,” the volunteer said. “I can’t force them to move. Asking people to do so has limitations.”

The men’s 50-km racewalk and women’s 20-km racewalk events were held in Sapporo on Aug. 6.

The women’s marathon and the men’s marathon are scheduled in Sapporo on Aug. 7 and 8.

A 50-year-old male photographer who came to take pictures of the Aug. 5 race said the experience made him worried.

“For the marathon events, dozens of times more people will likely come out on the streets,” he said.

(This article was written by Noboru Okada, Takeshi Suzuki, Yuta Kayaba, Takuya Kado, Eiji Noda and Toru Saito.)