Tokyo 2021: an Olympics like no other

What’s it like for athletes preparing for the Olympics in these strange times, not knowing if all their work will come to naught?

Will they? Won’t they? For the casual observer it’s been a long and confusing path to the Tokyo Olympics, with almost daily questions about the wisdom of holding a mass sporting event in the midst of a pandemic. Imagine what it’s like, then, for the athletes preparing for it in these strangest of times, not knowing if all their work will come to naught if the Games are called off.

Javelin star Kelsey-Lee Barber points out there’s no map to neatly set out what will happen, so her plan is to expect disruption. That sort of flexibility will apply to another set of extreme athletes who feature today. Gareth Andrews and Richard Stephenson will soon attempt the first unsupported ski crossing of Antarctica, each dragging 200kg sleds across 2600km. Everything is being planned with meticulous detail. But when you’re attempting a feat that’s right on the edge of what is humanly possible, you’re into unknown territory.