‘People are dying’: Backstroker Mitch Larkin quickly puts Tokyo Games loss in perspective

Australia’s top backstroker Mitch Larkin knows he won’t be in Tokyo later this year but the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic around the world quickly puts everything in perspective.

Mitch Larkin at Gold Coast Aquatic Centre in February.

Heartbreak quickly turned to reality for medal hope Mitch Larkin when he found out he would not be on the blocks at the Olympic pool in Tokyo in July.

Australia’s top backstroker said he’d “punch through” to a rescheduled 2021 Olympics after the swirl of emotions he dealt with over the announcement.

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“I was pretty heartbroken when I first heard the Tokyo news but the reality also comes pretty quickly that there are bigger concerns for the world right now than the Olympics,” Larkin, 26, said.

“People are dying, borders are closing, businesses are in trouble ... it’s a dramatic situation.

“Rescheduling does give athletes more certainty because we have seemed in limbo.

“I’ve had a great preparation for a 2020 Olympics but if it now means starting a new prep at the end of the year for 2021, I’ll punch through and maybe do some more uni studies online.”

Mitch Larkin will use the rescheduling of the Olympics to do some more online study.

Training partner Clyde Lewis said his ambitions as part of Australia’s world champion 4x200m freestyle relay team were unaltered even though his first Olympic experience had been delayed.

“I’m cut but we’re going to get a chance next year, so we are all dreaming still,” Lewis, 22, said.

Mitch Larkin competes in the men's 200m individual medley final in Singapore in 2019.

“It’s not like it’s the end of my career and there’s a good support group among the relay boys, with all the (text) messaging, to stay confident in getting to our goal.”

Some training pools are open, others are closed, while some would-be Olympic athletes have been posting workout videos while isolating at home while the postponement question has been bubbling.

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