With the Olympics Postponed, What Happens to Seminoles Training for the Games?
The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo have been postponed to 2021, the IOC announced Tuesday morning. It was not an unexpected move, and as one might expect, it also has far-reaching implications, regarding logistics, travel, qualifying, and training.
Trey Cunningham, an Olympic hopeful, as well as the best short hurdler (60m,100m) in the NCAA, was "not excited" about the decision, but is adamant that it was "the most appropriate call" considering the global pandemic.
Cunningham was undefeated in the 2019-2020 NCAA Indoor Season, including the ACC Indoor Championship, and was ranked the fourth fastest 60m hurdler in the world. He also won the USTFCCCA South Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2020. His disappointment is understandable.
He runs the 60m hurdles in 7.51. That means the time it takes you to finish this paragraph he covers 60m... over hurdles. For now, he will continue his training, albeit with a brief blip-- a year long reset.
Cunningham was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the NCAA Indoor Championships when the meet was canceled, along with multiple Men's Basketball Conference Championships and the NCAA Basketball Tournaments.
"We know how important March Madness is," FSU Head Coach Bob Braman said, intimating that hearing the news the NCAA Indoor Meet was canceled not long after the NCAAT was, he knew it was a big deal.
"Then our next priority was traveling home, and when we got home, staying safe."
Fortunately, for Cunningham, Spring Break followed his canceled NCAA Championship meet, so he took a few days off. He has to adjust his macro-cycle, the annual plan world-class athletes follow to peak for important meets. He'll push it back to fit the new schedule.
School, however, only stopped for Spring Break. He has continued classes online, though he says, "it is a weird experience not being in the classroom."
Until he can resume training with the team and his coach, he is cross-training and taking up hobbies he hasn't participated in since he was a kid.
And he's doing his schoolwork: "I mean, finals are May 1."
