Lifeline thrown as Olympics now a go for South Australian debutant Maeve Plouffe in 2021
The coronavirus pandemic has wiped out many sports for the coming months but news that the Tokyo Olympics is still a goer, albeit in 2021, is a relief to a young South Aussie star who will debut at the Olympics.
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As an elite cyclist Maeve Plouffe knows full well the highs and lows of her sport.
Her high was her recent selection on to the Australian team for her debut Olympics in Tokyo – her low was when the Games looked a chance to be canned because of the coronavirus.
But order was restored last week when the International Olympic Committee decided the Games would go ahead – but sometime in 2021.
That news was a huge relief for the 20-year-old Plouffe.
“I am actually relieved now,” Plouffe said.
“It was more the fear of cancellation. You don’t even think of that especially if it is your first Games.
“But this is the right call in the situation.
“I think time is on my side. Now the team will have more time together to get our times up.
“It’s a dream. It has been only the last six months that the Olympics might have been on the cards for me.”
Plouffe will line up in the women’s team pursuit as part of the endurance team after excellent results during the past 12 months.
But the uncertainty of when the Games will be held and what her training program in the months ahead would look like is being worked through.
“We will need to be flexible and adaptable with training so that we are ready whenever the Games may be.
“At the moment I’m doing the best I can to still train as hard as possible while social distancing – for example doing gym at home and riding alone.
“We can’t be at the track until the virus clears so the team is doing their best to stay fit until it reopens.’’
Plouffe, a member of the Port Adelaide Cycling Club and a SA Sports Institute athlete, also is juggling her cycling program by undertaking a double degree at Adelaide University – a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Science (marine biology, ecology).
Plouffe said as exciting as her Olympics selection had been, to share her success with family and friends was special.
“It’s so nice to see because these people around me are the ones who have given me so much and helped me get here so I guess this qualification is just as much for them as it is for me,” Plouffe said.
Plouffe’s rise in the sport has been amazing considering she was off the scene for a time in 2019 after breaking an arm. She also was riding on the junior team but was earmarked as an athlete to take the next step – vindicating that faith with three Australian championships and an Oceania title.
Originally published as Lifeline thrown as Olympics now a go for South Australian debutant Maeve Plouffe in 2021