A pair of Japanese honeymooners stranded in Cape Verde by the coronavirus pandemic have been named unlikely ambassadors for the tropical paradise’s Olympic team at next year’s Tokyo Games. Rikiya and Ayumi Kataoka started a round-the-world trip in December in South Africa, and were working their way north in February when the scale of the pandemic began to become clear. They scrapped their plans to continue on to Europe and decided to fly to Cape Verde. They have since been stuck there. “I thought maybe the fact that we were stuck in Cape Verde due to the pandemic might attract media interest. But I never imagined that we would become Cape Verde’s Olympic ambassadors.” Rikiya now ambassador of Cape Verde for Tokyo Games said. In exchange for meals and lodging. Rikiya, who runs a sharehouse business in Tokyo and works as a videographer, began producing videos and photos for local restaurants and resorts. Word soon got out, and local media picked up the story, catching the eye of the country’s Olympic officials.
SOURCE: THE JAKARTA POST