There will be a passing of the Olympic baton, athletics style with a Novocastrian twist, when track and field competition gets underway.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Not only from coach to athlete and from one Games to the next, but from the last event in Rio to one of the first in Tokyo.
Merewether's Rose Davies will contest heats of the women's 5000 metres on Friday (8pm AEST) and it comes five years after her Adamstown-based coach Scott Westcott finished the men's marathon in Brazil.
"As old as I feel, I'm still the last Aussie athlete to step off the track in Olympic competition and now Rose will be one of first Aussies to step back onto the track for Olympic competition," Westcott, 45, said.
Davies, who clocked a Games qualifier with a personal best time of 15 minutes and 8.48 seconds in the Netherlands in May, takes on the cream of women's middle-distance running.
The 21-year-old lines up alongside Ethiopians Ejgayehu Taye (14:14.09) and Senbere Teferi (14:15.24) and Kenya's Agnes Tirop (14:20.68), who feature in the top-10 all-time list for women's 5000m times.
Australian teammates Isobel Batt-Doyle (15:04.10) and Jenny Blundell (15:10.27) follow in the second heat, which also includes Rio silver medallist Hellen Obiri (14:18.37). The first five from each heat qualify for Monday's final (10:40pm) as well as the next five fastest.
"At 21 we just want her to go and experience it all, blow out a lot of the mystique about the Olympics so in three years' time she can focus on being as competitive as she can," Westcott said.
"This time around is a great adventure. We want her to be competitive but there's no pressure. We don't want her to finish top eight or top 16 - just go there and have a blast."
Davies has used the postponed Games to full advantage. The extra time helped her reach her maiden Olympics, having won the national 10,000m title this year. She has been overseas the past two months, training and competing in Europe before arriving in Tokyo this week.
"This time last year, when the Olympics were supposed to be held, she was out of the picture," Westcott said. "What a difference a year makes."
There was a late scare for Davies on Thursday when Australia's track and field team were put into isolation after a US athlete tested positive for COVID-19.
Westcott describes Davies as "Newcastle girl through and through".
She has been sent messages of support from her Newcastle Runners training group, Souths Leagues Club and old high school SFX in Hamilton as well as friends and family.