With the Tokyo Summer games postponed an entire year due to Covid-19, athletes had no choice but to find new and creative ways to stay fit. We asked Olympians how they trained during a global pandemic, and this is what they said.
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Katie Ledecky (USA, Swimming)
Katie Ledecky (USA, Swimming)
“I have been fully submerged in water since March 2020.”
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Kevin Durant (USA, Basketball)
Kevin Durant (USA, Basketball)
“I gained over 150 pounds to compete in sumo wrestling, then got told I’m playing basketball. What a waste.”
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Uta Abe (Japan, Judo)
Uta Abe (Japan, Judo)
“Many of my sparring partners weren’t available so I had to stop people in the streets to ask if they wanted to fight me. Thankfully, most of them said yes.”
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Yuto Horigome (Japan, Skateboarding)
Yuto Horigome (Japan, Skateboarding)
“I logged over 2,000 hours in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2.”
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Carissa Moore (USA, Surfing)
Carissa Moore (USA, Surfing)
“It wasn’t quite the same, but I had to create a makeshift ocean out of 400,000 cubic feet and 3,200,000 gallons of water.”
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Justin Thomas (USA, Golf)
Justin Thomas (USA, Golf)
“Oh, we don’t have pandemics at the country club.”
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Caeleb Dressel (USA, Swimming)
Caeleb Dressel (USA, Swimming)
“I did four jumping jacks, consumed several cups of whey protein, and was good to go.”
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Sandi Morris (USA, Track and Field)
Sandi Morris (USA, Track and Field)
“I couldn’t go to a regular facility to train in pole-vaulting so I had to get creative. I started by vaulting over small animals—mostly squirrels and the occasional cat. Obviously, I graduated to dogs, small breeds at first, but then pit mixes and eventually a mastiff. But the final frontier is to finally vault over man. My only fear is that once I’ve crossed that threshold, there will be no turning back...”
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Megan Rapinoe (USA, Soccer)
Megan Rapinoe (USA, Soccer)
“I made sure to practice in a safe, isolated space, so I just kept booking Subway commercials.”
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Jagger Eaton (USA, Skateboarding)
Jagger Eaton (USA, Skateboarding)
“I just skated around an abandoned RadioShack parking lot until my parents told me it was time to go to Tokyo.”
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Sky Brown (Great Britain, Skateboarding)
Sky Brown (Great Britain, Skateboarding)
“I don’t know. When Covid-19 started, I hadn’t even been born yet.”
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Amber English (USA, Skeet Shooting)
Amber English (USA, Skeet Shooting)
“My grandma became my target. She wasn’t great at dodging bullets, but it was still good training for me.”
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Lydia Jacoby (USA, Swimming)
Lydia Jacoby (USA, Swimming)
“I swam a few laps, but mostly got sucked into investigating all the open cases on Unsolved Mysteries.”
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Kolohe Andino (USA, Surfing)
Kolohe Andino (USA, Surfing)
“It’s easy to stay in the water surfing all day when you know for a fact your parole officer is waiting for you on the beach.”
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Monica Abbott (USA, Softball)
Monica Abbott (USA, Softball)
“Luckily, as a softball player, I was already used to feeling ostracized and practicing alone.”
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Lee Kiefer (USA, Fencing)
Lee Kiefer (USA, Fencing)
“Most people think that fencing requires an opponent, but during the pandemic, we made due by hitting up local grocery stores and slicing into bags of salad mix.”
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Damian Lillard (USA, Basketball)
Damian Lillard (USA, Basketball)
“I played an entire NBA season and was paid $30 million for doing so.”
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Nyjah Huston (USA, Skateboarding)
Nyjah Huston (USA, Skateboarding)
“Pandemic?”
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All slides
- Olympians Explain How They Trained During The Pandemic
- Katie Ledecky (USA, Swimming)
- Kevin Durant (USA, Basketball)
- Uta Abe (Japan, Judo)
- Yuto Horigome (Japan, Skateboarding)
- Carissa Moore (USA, Surfing)
- Justin Thomas (USA, Golf)
- Caeleb Dressel (USA, Swimming)
- Sandi Morris (USA, Track and Field)
- Megan Rapinoe (USA, Soccer)
- Jagger Eaton (USA, Skateboarding)
- Sky Brown (Great Britain, Skateboarding)
- Amber English (USA, Skeet Shooting)
- Lydia Jacoby (USA, Swimming)
- Kolohe Andino (USA, Surfing)
- Monica Abbott (USA, Softball)
- Lee Kiefer (USA, Fencing)
- Damian Lillard (USA, Basketball)
- Nyjah Huston (USA, Skateboarding)