Dr Saito Tomoya, director of the Centre of Emergency Preparedness and Response from Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases, presented the findings of a study which suggested the reproduction rate of COVID-19 in Japan began decreasing around the start of the Olympics on July 23.

Tokyo 2020 was largely held behind closed doors and amid a backdrop of public opposition, with the Japanese capital placed under a state of emergency in July prior to the Games.

Japan experienced its biggest wave of COVID-19 infections to date earlier this year, which peaked at the end of August at more than 26,000 new daily cases, but the data shows the Olympics did not lead to a further spread of the virus, it is claimed.

"So overall, there seems to be no negative, direct impact to the epidemic in Tokyo during the Games," Saito argued.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics took place from July 23 to August 8, and the Paralympics from August 24 to September 5.

Organisers have insisted that the playbooks, which included rules and guidance for participants on regular coronavirus testing, the wearing of masks, limiting social contact and swift departures from Japan, enabled the Games to take place safely.

A total of 464 positive cases were identified during Tokyo 2020 "among tens of thousands of accredited stakeholders", 33 of which were from the 11,300 athletes taking part.

The IOC argued that the breakdown of infections between athletes and officials and other participants showed that "imported cases from athletes and officials, the majority of whom were overseas visitors staying at the Olympic Village or Games accommodation, were contained effectively".

It added that most other participants were Japanese residents, with case rises among this group consistent with an increase in local cases among the general population.

Saito said the data showed that the dominant AY.29 variant probably entered the country from the original Delta strain in May and was only endemic in Japan.

"That means there is no evidence that the virus was spread to the rest of the world by participants in Tokyo 2020," he suggested.

"And no epidemic other than AY.29 in Japan means that virus strains that were brought in by the participants did not spread in Japan."

Playbooks for Tokyo 2020 have influenced the countermeasures that will be in place at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in February, most notably the implementation of a "closed-loop management system".

Dr Brian McCloskey, the chair of the independent expert panel on COVID-19 countermeasures for Tokyo 2020, asserted that the findings endorsed the IOC's approach.

"These results support the approach, advocated by the World Health Organization, that tackling and managing the COVID-19 pandemic depends on using all the options available - public health and social measures, robust test and trace systems, and vaccination," McCloskey said.

"Relying on any one of these alone is unlikely to be effective.

"The results also show that, despite the criticisms and concerns expressed before the Games, Tokyo 2020 did not lead to a spreading event, let alone a super spreading event, and mass events can be delivered safely if the appropriate countermeasures are in place."

Evidence suggesting that major sporting events can be held without facilitating a spike in coronavirus cases will be welcomed by the industry, and especially the IOC.

Beijing 2022 is little more than a month away, and COVID-19 will again provide the backdrop to the Games, with the Omicron variant, which is more transmissible, leading to record case numbers across the globe.