In Some Olympic Sports, Training from Home Is Almost Normal

 

Nikhil Kumar is one of the best young table tennis players in the United States. Less than a month after Kumar won the right to compete in them, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games were postponed¹ until 2021. Like so many other Olympic athletes, he is now trying to stay sharp and in shape.

What is different are all the details of his training. All things considered, he says, everything seems to be working.

"For my sport, a little lucky that we're able to have everything indoors, and it's not taking up too much space and everything," Kumar said. "Not many sports are as lucky as ours is right now, to be able to have the opportunity to continue playing on a daily basis."

The coronavirus pandemic has forced many athletes to be creative as they try to continue their training. But in some Olympic sports, working from home is fairly common. Kumar has been able to play table tennis with a robot that shoots balls at him.

Everyone is facing issues during the pandemic, but some competitors have been lucky. Weightlifter Kate Nye trains at home in her garage.

She said, "When everything kind of started shutting down, it obviously affected² our lives in other ways — but weightlifting wasn't one of them. I've kind of just been going as scheduled."

Unusual solutions

The virus has forced some athletes to come up with unusual ways to keep training. Sandi Morris and her father built a pole vault³ setup so that she could train near her parents' home. In India, swimmer SP Likith has reportedly been training in a waterway at a farm. Javelin⁴ thrower Kara Winger tries to train for that event by throwing a metal pipe along an angled cable near her home.

Compared to all that, Kumar's problems seem simple. He recently made improvements to a device that shoots table tennis balls at him.

He also uses a running machine and does some weight training. However, he believes the mental pressure is his biggest concern right now.

"It's just a different experience," said Kumar, who is from California. "It's also hard to have to mentally want to push myself, every single day, to come and practice, because it's a little different feeling than if you were to practice with a person."

Nye had set up the training area in her garage before the coronavirus really became an issue. Mattie Rogers, another American weightlifter, would normally train near her home, but she also has decided⁵ to train in her garage.

She said, "I kind of like it, honestly, now, because I don't have to drive...My gym is about 40 minutes away, so if I'm doing two training sessions a day, driving there and back that many times, I'm saving a ton of time now."

Rogers did have to make changes. The floor in her garage is not level, so she tried to fix that adding a thick floor covering. She also has had to deal with neighbors' concerns about weights hitting the ground.

For air rifle shooter Lucas Kozeniesky, the place to train is the bottom floor of his Colorado home. There is enough room for him to practice shooting at his house — at the Olympic length of 10 meters.

"I opened up a couple doors, and like a hallway connected, and I'm like, ‘Oh look, this is actually perfect,'" he said.

These days the details of training can often depend on the Olympic event.

People following the sport of cycling say they expect American Chloe Dygert to win medals at the Tokyo Games. Dygert recently moved to Idaho to be near her trainer. She says not a whole lot has changed for her because she can still do individual training rides or ride indoors on a stationary⁶ bicycle.

For Kate Nye, the training has been simple, although that does not mean things are normal right now. Nye is a student at Oakland University. She wants to go to medical school. The postponement⁷ of the Olympics has created a lot of questions in her life outside of sports.

Nye thinks she can keep up with the weightlifting, however.

She said, "I've had it pretty easy. My life hasn't changed a whole lot. School went online, and I'm working at my garage as usual. What is my future going to look like, emotionally? That's hard, but everyone's dealing⁸ with that on some level."

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

athlete – n. a person who is trained or skilled in sports or games requiring physical strength

opportunity – n. a good chance for progress

pandemic – n. an outbreak of a disease that spreads over a wide area and affects large number of people.

garage – n. a building or room for housing motor vehicles

shut down – v. to close down

schedule – v. to plan an event

cable – n. a thick rope made of wire or nonmetallic material

gym – n. short for gymnasium an organization that provides exercise equipment designed to improve one's health

practice – v. to train

1 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

4 javelin   

n.标枪，投枪

参考例句：

• She achieved a throw of sixty metres in the javelin event.在掷标枪项目中，她掷了60米远。
• The coach taught us how to launch a javelin.教练教我们投标枪。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 stationary   

adj.固定的，静止不动的

参考例句：

• A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
• Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。

7 postponement   

n.推迟

参考例句：

• He compounded with his creditors for a postponement of payment. 他与债权人达成协议延期付款。
• Rain caused the postponement of several race-meetings. 几次赛马大会因雨延期。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。