Tokyo Olympics 2020 delay: Australian athletes won’t be required to re-qualify

The call to delay the Tokyo Olympics has been welcomed by the Australian Olympic Committee - while panicked athletes who had booked their place in 2020 received a major boost on Wednesday.

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Champion paddler Jess Fox qualified for Tokyo last year through her performances at the world championships, and is one 42 Aussies, from seven different sports, that are assured of their spots in the team.

But there are hundreds more that will have celebrated the news because Australia has already secured 318 quota spots, though the individuals have not been confirmed yet, most notably in team sports like basketball, soccer, rugby 7s and hockey.

The only swimmer to have qualified so far is Kareena Lee, in the women’s 10km marathon, though the Dolphins have booked places in each of the seven relays.

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The delay is great news for the likes of Chloe Esposito.

SEE BELOW FOR A LIST OF THE AUSTRALIAN ATHLETES WHO HAVE QUALIFIED

Australia expects to get around 480 quota positions in total but that could change depending on how the international federations decide what to do with the remaining spots that have not filled yet.

For some athletes, the extra year’s wait could kill their Olympic dream, while for others, it could reinvigorate it.

Chloe Esposito, who won Australia’s first gold medal in modern pentathlon at the 2016 Rio Olympics, could be one of the lucky ones.

She wasn’t going to Tokyo because she’s expecting her first child in August but the 12-month delay has opened the possibility that she could make a comeback and defend her title.

Fox is used to rough rides.

But nothing she has ever experienced on a whitewater slalom course has been as wild as the week that’s shut down the entire world and forced the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics.

If it wasn’t for the COVID-19 pandemic, Fox would be in Japan right now, practising on the same Olympic course where the gold medals were going to be decided in July.

That trip was cancelled and Fox has to put her canoes in storage on Thursday, unsure when she’ll be able to use them again because of the coronavirus lockdown.

Jess Fox will be in Tokyo without having to requalify.

But she did receive one piece of good news to lift her spirits and everyone else who has already qualified for Tokyo when the Australian Olympic Committee said those selections would stand so athletes already picked would not have to requalify.

“I wasn’t sure what would happen with that but it’s definitely a relief because it means I can focus on the new date and the longer term goal of the Games rather than focus on qualifying,” Fox said.

“I feel really fortunate to be able to have that sort of clarity about the future because for a lot of people, not just athletes, that’s not the case so I feel for them.

“Emotionally, I was prepared for the Games to be postponed and it’s totally the right call because the health and safety of everyone in the world right now is more important, but it’s also great news they were postponed and not cancelled altogether.”

The Australian athletes who have already qualifed for the Tokyo Olympics

ARCHERY

David Barnes

Ryan Tyack

Taylor Worth

ARTISTIC SWIMMING

Hannah Cross

Jane Fruzynski

Kiera Gazzard

Kirsten Kinash

Rachel Presser

Emily Rogers

Amber Rose Stackpole

Amie Thompson

CANOE - SLALOM

Lucien Delfour

Daniel Watkins

Jessica Fox

CYCLING - TRACK

Ashlee Ankudinoff

Georgia Baker

Amy Cure

Annette Edmondson

Matthew Glaezer

Nathan Hart

Leigh Howard

Kaarle McCulloch

Stephanie Morton

Kelland O’Brien

Lucas Plapp

Maeve Plouffe

Alexander Porter

Matthew Richardson

Sam Welsford

MODERN PENTATHLON

Edward Fernon

Marina Carrier

SAILING

Mara Stransky

Lisa Darmanin

Jason Waterhouse

Tess Lloyd

Jaime Ryan

Sam Phillips

William Phillips

Mathew Belcher

Will Ryan

Matt Wearn

SWIMMING

Kareena Lee

Originally published as Tokyo Olympics 2020 delay: Australian athletes won’t be required to re-qualify