REGINA -- Saskatchewan sprint kayaker Jarret Kenke had his sights firmly set on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“Ever since 2006, I’ve been dreaming of going to the Olympics, so to think that its possibly less than a year away, gives me chills, gives me goosebumps,” the Saskatoon product said while competing at the Wascana in Regina in August of 2019.
But with the Canadian Olympic Committee’s announcement Sunday evening that they won’t be sending Canadian athletes to Tokyo due to health risks associated with Covid-19, Kenke will not be going. However, he feels it’s a good decision.
“It’s good pressure from Canada to put on the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to postpone it," he said. "I hope other countries follow suit.”
Australia has also made the decision to not participate at the Summer Olympics in 2020. The IOC said on Sunday that it will take the next four weeks to decide whether or not the Games in Tokyo will be postponed.
Regina steeplechaser Jessica Furlan is another Olympic hopeful, and she’s relieved Canada made the tough decision for her. The 30-year-old feels the IOC is out of touch.
“They seem quite tone deaf to what’s going on, and didn’t really seem to have athletes or the world as a whole as their main priority,” she said.
Neither Kenke nor Furlan were guaranteed a spot in Tokyo. They were hoping to qualify through their respective Olympic trials, but those were cancelled due to the virus.
Saskatoon’s Lisa Thomaidis knew she’d be at the Tokyo Games. As head coach of the Canadian Women’s Basketball team, she helped her squad earn a berth in Tokyo. The team was defeated at its Olympic qualifier. However, she also agrees with the COC’s decision.
“There’s far greater and more important things than sport right now, as much as sometimes we hate to admit it," she said. "But it really puts things in perspective and it is necessary to make sure that that decision was made right now.”
If the IOC decides to postpone the games, it will still be months before athletes even compete. Kenke says for Kayakers, it will be almost two years without competition if the games are moved to 2021.
“We always think of health for the athletes," he said. "Why would we sacrifice our health when we’ve sacrificed so many other things for this opportunity, it just doesn’t make sense.”
Furlan echoes the sentiments, and hopes the decision by the COC forces the IOC’s hand.
“You just have to put your hope and faith in them that they’ll make the smart decision and the right decision for everyone,” she said.
Thomaidis knows there’s uncertainty moving forward, and that their schedule will be in flux. But the head coach is hopeful that the basketball team’s spot is the Olympics will be honoured if the IOC postpones the games.
“We’re hoping we’ve got our place held," she said. "Whatever length of time it is, we can pick up where we’ve left off and proceed from there.”
