Why Many Athletes Will Be Left Out When Olympic Training Centers Reopen

“Our focus is going to be on the lead-up to Tokyo and Beijing and that will result in a narrowing in the number of athletes and coaches” who have access to the training center, said Rick Adams, the chief of sport performance at the Olympic committee.

In limiting access, the organization is attempting to balance preparation with avoiding the nightmare scenario of Covid-19 spreading through a training center filled with athletes, many of whom are at varying stages in their careers and often participate in less lucrative sports. In normal times, they live at the training centers because expenses are low and they are often subsidized to some degree by the national governing body for their sport. More successful athletes who can afford not to live at the training centers generally only visit for short stints.

But these are not normal times. During a phone call Thursday with leaders of U.S.A. Bobsled and Skeleton, several athletes who reside at the training center in Lake Placid, N.Y. were told they will learn in the coming weeks whether they will be allowed to stay there into July.

Katie Uhlaender, a skeleton athlete who is trying to make her fifth Olympic team, has been living since March at the Lake Placid center, where the training facilities are largely closed. She arrived to compete at the national championships, which were canceled, and decided to stay after production was halted on the reality television show she planned to work on. She plans to apply for residency at the facility, but she is 35 years old and 21st in the world rankings, though she remains the fourth highest-ranked American.

“I am fighting to survive,” said Uhlaender, a two-time gold medalist in the world championships.

Aron McGuire, chief executive of U.S.A. Bobsled and Skeleton, said in an email Thursday he would rely on the U.S.O.P.C.’s guidelines for who gets to stay at the training center.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/06/sports/olympics/coronavirus-olympic-training-tokyo.html