From #Rio2016 to #Tokyo2020: the Olympic hand-off to end all Olympic hand-offs (to date)

The 2016 Rio Olympics have finally come to a close. The US tallied the most gold medals in the tournament, with Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, and Simone Biles leading the way; Usain Bolt immortalized himself with his third straight 100-meter gold medal, and the Philippines gets its first taste of Olympic hardware 20 years after it won silver at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Also read: Curtains drawn as Rio Olympics comes to an end

These were good highlights, but none would probably compare to what Japan just pulled off during the closing ceremonies.

 

YES, YOUR EYES ARE NOT DECEIVING YOU. That is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a red ball, the red-and-blue jumpsuit, and the iconic red Mario cap. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images, grabbed from Bloomberg Technology)

 

The closing ceremonies for the 2016 Rio Olympics definitely left its mark, what with the Japanese Prime Minister himself gracing the occasion in a not-so-traditional way. A video was shown to those present which showcased the prominent Japanese athletes in Swimming, athletics, and boxing.

Towards the end of the video, they showed Prime Minister Abe in an executive car, presumably running late for the closing ceremony in Rio. He then transforms into Mario, Japan’s foremost export and proceeds to run to one of Tokyo’s busy streets. He gets to Rio from Tokyo via the iconic green warp tube with a little help from Doraemon.

The stunt immediately gained a lot of attention in social media, with Twitter in particular being very vocal about their thoughts on the closing ceremonies.

The prime minister of #Japan
is awesome! ??pic.twitter.com/cNpOW3g03q

— MATTS (@MATTSMATTS) August 22, 2016

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at #Rio2016 closing ceremony is all our Super Mario dreams. pic.twitter.com/IyzWoU21bZ

— Mashable (@mashable) August 22, 2016

When the Japanese Prime Minister comes dressed as Super Mario, we know #Tokyo2020 is going to be epic!#RiotoTokyo pic.twitter.com/Q5RpnZDRHq

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 22, 2016

 

Here’s the video that might’ve just broken the internet anew:

Can't wait for Tokyo Olympics
in 2020!#TokyoOlympic2020#Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/F1cRtvk125

— 『S』 (@inosena7uver) August 22, 2016

The 2020 Games will be Tokyo’s first time hosting it since the 1964 Games, which was then the first in Asia. The opening ceremony is scheduled for July 24, 2020, with 5 new sports added to the Olympic roster: baseball/softball, karate, skateboard, sports climbing, and surfing.

 

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, The Telegraph, Bloomberg Technology, Heavy.com, BBC