Athletes tweak Olympic training

Qualified athletes are guaranteed their slots in the Tokyo Games which have been rescheduled for July 23-Aug. 8 next year but it means they’ll adjust their training regimen to peak just in time for the Olympics. Athletes trying to board the bus for Tokyo are now given more time to prepare although there’s still no advice on when the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs) of the different sports will be reset.

Pole vault qualifier EJ Obiena welcomed the news of the postponement because it gives him additional time to recover from his lower back strain and improve his jump in training with coach Vitaly Petrov and Brazilian Thiago Braz da Silva in Formia, Italy. Petrov, a Ukrainian living in Formia, works exclusively with Obiena and Da Silva. Petrov, 82, coached Sergey Bubka, Yelena Isinbayeva and Da Silva to Olympic gold medals in pole vault. Da Silva, 26, is the defending Olympic gold medalist and holds the Olympic record of 6.03 meters, way above the qualifying cutoff of 5.8.

But Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion said the delay has its downside. She said qualifier Caloy Yulo was ready to go for gold if the Olympics pushed through this year. “We scouted the opposition at the recent World Cup in Baku and our conclusion is nobody can beat Caloy in the floor event in the Olympics,” said Carrion. “But with the postponement, one year can make a difference. We’ll have to scout the opposition all over again. No matter what, Caloy will be ready.”

Carrion said the IOC could’ve waited until the end of April before deciding to postpone the Olympics. “I’m praying this crisis ends just as abruptly as how it started,” she said. “Right now, it’s not under our control. So while I would’ve liked the Olympics to go on as scheduled because of Caloy’s chances, I agree with the postponement for the safety and health of everyone involved.”

Former POC president Cito Dayrit said postponing the Olympics to 2022 was out of the question. “If pushed back to 2022, it would’ve been the first time that all three Olympic Games – winter, summer, youth – are held in the same year,” he said. “That is hugely problematic for the IOC, participating NOCs and bad for sponsors and spectators. 2021 was the only choice.”

Before the IOC announced the new dates, Dayrit had his own prediction. “It would be good if the IOC and Japan can schedule the Games on July 24 to Aug. 9, 2021 so only the year is changed,” he said. Dayrit was off by only a day. Regarding the qualified athletes, Dayrit said 57 percent of the slots have been filled. “This could still be modified as qualification is decided by the IFs (International Federations) with the IOC’s concurrence,” he noted. It’s possible the IOC and the IFs could dispense with qualifying events and plug the remaining slots with athletes depending on their world ranking and wildcard invitees.

The Paralympics were also postponed from Aug. 25-Sept. 6 this year to Aug. 24-Sept. 5, 2021. Philippine Paralympic Committee president Mike Barredo said he wasn’t bothered by the IOC’s delayed decision to postpone both the Olympics and Paralympics. He noted that the delay had to do with assessing so many factors with the organizers, Japanese government and stakeholders on athletes’ welfare, economic implications, financials, sponsorships, coverage schedules, timelines and others. “I can empathize with them in a way, though in a smaller degree, as we experience postponement of the 10th ASEAN Para Games,” he said. “It’s unprecedented. The silver lining is everyone can focus on staying safe, looking after his or her family’s well-being and helping each other to combat and finally, overcome the virus.” Barredo said he’s thankful to the PSC for taking care of the national para athletes and coaches, particularly in this time of crisis.

The IOC said the Olympics will be held next year “in their complete form … not later than summer 2021.” It added that the one-year delay “will provide sufficient time to finish the qualification process … the same heat mitigation measures as planned for 2020 will be implemented.” IOC president Thomas Bach said “I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge … humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel … these Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel.”