SALT LAKE CITY — In the hours after the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Organizing Committee announced the Olympics would be postponed until 2021, athletes responded almost universally with understanding and disappointment.
For many, another year of training poses difficult questions about careers and life choices. For others, the questions are simply whether or not they can remain at the top of their games for another year.
“Olympics might be postponed, but getting better is not! Control what you can control, and let the rest work itself out.” — Utah Royals defender Kelley O’Hara
Utah Royals defender Kelley O’Hara left no doubt about her intention to try and retain her place on the 2020 Olympic women’s soccer team. She shared an Instagram video of herself working out with this message: “Olympics might be postponed, but getting better is not! Control what you can control, and let the rest work itself out.”
That sentiment was echoed over and over by athletes across the country and from all sports.
Colleen Quigley, who hoped to compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the 2020 Games, shared her thoughts on Instagram, offering a beautiful perspective.
“How am I feeling?” she wrote. “Very grateful and extremely lucky. As a distance runner, I feel grateful that I can still go outside and go for a run and do my workouts. I’ve been able to get most of my strength training done at home with a weight resistance bands and a yoga mat. I feel grateful for my health and the ability to continue to practice my sport.”
She continued, “Other people have not been as lucky with their health and are suffering in hospitals fighting for their lives. Other athletes have had to stop practicing their sport all together (swimmers, pole vaulters, wrestlers, soccer players, volleyball players...just to name a few) with no idea as to when they will be able to resume practice. Right now we should all be more concerned with the health of our world than excellence in sport. I’m excited to have the Olympic Games when this is all over as something we can look forward to as a celebration, whenever that may be.”
Her hashtag was #Tokyowhenever!
There were some rumblings that the U.S. should requalify for the marathon, but U.S. fan favorite and 2016 Olympian Des Linden put an end to that with one tweet.
“Anybody suggesting the marathon trials be re-run, just stop,” she wrote. “There are 6 athletes who actually have so much to celebrate during this tough time, please don’t crap on their parade.”
Utah’s own 2016 marathoner Jared Ward agreed.
“For the sake of those that made the marathon team last month, I certainly hope they honor that selection,” Ward said in an email to the Deseret News. “I can’t imagine having had that ripped away from me four years ago.”
Ward said it will be an interesting run up to the Tokyo Games as both Boston and London marathons were bumped to the fall.
“All the all major marathons will have deeper competition as the Olympic field slides into those races,” Ward said. “Next year, assuming the Olympics goes off next summer, just looks a lot like this year was going to look.”
He said the best case scenario for athletes is to get accurate information as quickly as possible.
“I don’t think it affects marathon athletes a lot to be ready summer 2021,” Ward said. “In fact, might allow them to prepare for the Olympics with focus, instead of so much training geared towards the trails.”
One huge question for Team USA’s men’s basketball team was whether 71-year-old Gregg Popovich, who many suspected might retire after the 2020 Games, and 80-year-old executive director Jerry Colangelo, would commit to leading the team in another year.
“The commitments everyone made for 2020 are still there; we’re all-in and we’re committed,” Colangelo said in an interview with ESPN. “It’s important to deal with the unknowns and this virus. This too shall pass, and we’ll be back for everyone’s well-being.”
The NBA is officially suspended with some hoping it might return, even without fans, in May. Team USA was supposed to begin training on July 4 for a July 24 opening ceremonies in Tokyo. Many questions remain, including when the Tokyo games will be held in 2021 and whether or not it will have conflicts with the NBA. But most decision-makers seem committed to working out any issues, even as questions persist over what might happen to the 2020 NBA season.
Dutch cyclist Tom Dumoulin tweeted, “It’s understandable that the Olympics are being postponed and it’s good that a decision has already been made at this stage. This provides clarity. It’s too bad for me and many other athletes. But I suppose and I hope that we can look forward to the Olympics in the next year. At this moment, there are more important things in the world than sports.”