Olympic postponement ‘difficult’ for medal-hopefuls

Olympic postponement ‘difficult’ for medal-hopefuls
Steven Gardiner

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) world champion Steven Gardiner says the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games due to the coronavirus pandemic is “difficult”, but he understands the decision.

Gardiner was looking to capture his first Olympic gold medal.

“Although it was tough for me after reading the article about the postponement, I understand that some things are just out of our control,” Gardiner said.

“At the end of the day, health is what’s most important. I think that’s what it came down to.”

The global event will be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, according to the IOC and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee in a joint statement.

Gardiner said it’s tough to downplay the disappointment even though he agrees with the decision to delay the Games.

“We were getting in some really good workouts and were really in a good place before the coronavirus pandemic really intensified,” Gardiner.

“At this point now, we have to even change the way that we train. We usually workout with a group of more than 10, so, even that right now is a risk. This year has been tough. No one was even able to get in a season opener.

“Right now, we’re not sure the Diamond League will be held this year and there are no meets going on in the United States. I’m not too worried about getting out of shape, but it definitely makes things much tougher moving forward.”

About Randy Smith

Randy Smith is the producer of the widely-watched local television show “Beyond The Headlines” and the web content manager of Eyewitness News. He joined Eyewitness News as a sportscaster in 2018, a role he still performs, and has previously covered a slew of international sporting events, including the 2015 Pan American Games, the Nike EYBL Showcase, several IAAF World Relays, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the Commonwealth Youth Games, the Bahamas Bowl and multiple CARIFTA Swimming and Track & Field Championships. Randy has been recognized by the Bahamas Press Club with awards for “Best Sports Broadcast” as a sportscaster and “Best TV Talk Show” as a producer.