After a challenging last 12 months plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic, swimming superstar Katie Ledecky remains hopeful.
Hopeful the Tokyo Olympics this summer will safely happen. Hopeful her preparation in trying to win up to five gold medals isn’t suffering because of the added distractions and what-ifs. Hopeful she and her fellow athletes will be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations before the Opening Ceremony on July 23.
Ledecky said she’s training as if the Games will take place. And at this point, she really doesn’t have much of a choice, even when it’s sometimes impossible to ignore all the speculation less than five months out.
But optimistic outlook aside, the six-time Olympic medalist has a firm stance when it comes to debates about athletes jumping the line for a COVID-19 vaccine ahead of more vulnerable people.
“We’re waiting in line,” 23-year-old Ledecky said Wednesday during a Zoom call with reporters. “I feel pretty strongly that we all have to get it when it’s our turn, and I really hope that that’s soon for all of us, not just athletes.
“And I hope that we’ll be back soon by the time — I mean, hopefully before Olympic trials, but definitely by Tokyo as well. I haven’t heard anything on timing of any of that. I’ll get it when I’m told that I can get it.”
In the U.S., more than 500,000 people have died as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the global death toll nears 2.5 million people, as of Thursday, The New York Times reported.
The International Olympic Committee is not requiring athletes get vaccinations before competing — though it’s encouraging them to do so if the vaccine is available but hasn’t provided any indication that it will help them jump the line, USA TODAY Sports reported. The World Health Organization is continuing to work with the IOC and Japanese officials, and in January, it said Olympic athletes should not receive preferential treatment, especially ahead of healthcare workers and more vulnerable populations.
The U.S. Olympic Committee isn’t pushing for American athletes to get priority access to a vaccine either, but it has been in contact with the White House about the situation, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.
But that’s not necessarily a universal approach to a widely controversial topic. More via The Wall Street Journal:
Responses from 20 Olympic countries surveyed by The Wall Street Journal indicate that many nations are willing to risk public blowback by at least seeking to advocate on behalf of athletes’ vaccination.
Following early shutdowns in the U.S. last spring, Ledecky and four-time Olympic medalist Simone Manuel swam together in a backyard pool under coach Greg Meehan before their training at Stanford resumed in the summer.
Their current COVID-19 protocols include being tested three times a week, and only members of the same household are allowed to swim in the same lanes during practice, said Ledecky, who lives alone.
Ahead of the Olympic trials in June, Ledecky said she’s “in a good spot right now” in terms of training. Looking to add to her already stunning collection of Olympic hardware, she’s aiming to qualify in the 200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle events. (The latter is Ledecky’s most dominant event — she holds the world record — and it’s the first time women can compete in it at the Games.) She also wants to qualify for the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
And while she hopes she’ll have the opportunity to be vaccinated prior to the Olympics, she said she doesn’t think she’d consider skipping them if she’s not.
“Whether we all have the vaccine or not, we are gonna have to do the exact same things in Tokyo — the mask wearing, the distancing the testing,” Ledecky said about the hypothetical situation. “Even if you get the vaccine and you have a positive test, you’re still able to spread the virus potentially. So there are lots of questions in play like that.”
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For the TYR Pro Swim Series event in San Antonio next week, she said she will travel for the first time in about a year, and with the rules USA Swimming has established, she feels these events can be done safely.
Ledecky — who turned pro in 2018 after her sophomore season at Stanford and graduated last fall — also expressed confidence in Tokyo organizers to keep athletes safe with protocols, like restricting their movements in the Olympic Village.
But she also told USA TODAY Sports that her “biggest fear” is “that there’s a huge outbreak or something at the Games.”
“They’re talking as though they’re planning for the fact that not very many athletes may be vaccinated,” Ledecky said. “I hope that many athletes are vaccinated by then, and I hope U.S. athletes are vaccinated by then.”
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