ST. PAUL -- St. Paul gymnast Sunisa Lee had just finished up practice Monday afternoon when the text messages started pouring in.
“I’m so sorry,” a few of them read, leaving the 17-year-old Lee confused as to what was going on.
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She quickly hopped on Twitter.
“It was the first thing that popped up,” Lee said. “I immediately started crying.”
As most people already knew, a member of the International Olympic Committee told USA Today on Monday that the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were going to be postponed, likely until 2021 at the earliest.
“My coach (Jess Graba) came up to me and was like, ‘It’s not for sure yet. Try not to cry too much,’” Lee said. “He was just comforting me and making sure I was OK.”
But deep down, Graba knew. They all did.
While nothing is “official” at this point, local Olympians-to-be realize it’s more or less a foregone conclusion. This has been weeks in the making as the coronavirus pandemic has continued to spread throughout the world.
St. Paul Johnson grad Emmanuel Matadi — a sprinter who served as Liberia’s flag bearer at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and has already qualified for the Tokyo Games — had been speaking with his training partner about this outcome for some time.
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Lakeville, Minn., native Regan Smith, a reigning World champion and current world-record holder in the pool, had been mentally preparing herself for something like this.
“I think in my mind I was like ‘Well, you don’t want to be absolutely crushed and heartbroken and disappointed when the news does finally break,’ ” the 18-year-old Smith said. “So I think just trying to get myself in that mind-set of, ‘Well, it’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of when they announce it.’ ”
No official announcement had been made as of Monday night, leaving Lee, and many others, unsure about the immediate future.
“Now I don’t know what to expect,” Lee said. “Nobody does.”
That’s been the mind-set many have been in for weeks, and according to Matadi and Smith, it’s impacted practice.
It’s hard to train for something that might not come to fruition.
“It kind of takes a mental toll on you,” the 28-year-old Matadi said. “Because you go in, and of course you do your best, but at the same time, it’s like, ‘Tomorrow might be my last day of training.’”
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Instead, today might have been. Emphasis on the might have.
Until an official announcement is made, everyone has to operate as if the 2020 Summer Olympics are on as scheduled. Which is why, more than anything, local Olympians-to-be want a concrete answer from the International Olympic Committee.
“They just need to make a decision one way or the other,” Lee said. “I know it’s hard. I get that. But it’s very confusing for the athletes that are trying to get there.”
“It would just be better in a peace-of-mind sort of perspective,” Smith added. “I’m assuming it will be 2021. What other options are there for them? I’m assuming that’s when it will be, but then again, you never know. Things are just changing all the time.”
It’s hard to know what to expect at this point, especially considering the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t yet peaked.
“Who knows?” Smith said. “Maybe this pandemic won’t be (over), or there will be another wave. There’s just always those thoughts going through my head. And if I’m being honest, I think I’ll adapt as I keep getting older and understanding the situation more.”
If they were to cancel it completely?
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“I don’t know what I’d do,” Smith said. “I think it would take me awhile to be OK from that, just because that would be a really hard blow.”
Still, it’s been on her mind. As she trains, she’s asked herself “What are you even doing this for?” But each time she reminds herself that “the Olympics won’t be canceled forever.”
“If they do get canceled — which I think is doubtful at this point — but if they do, I want to be ready for when they happen the next time,” Smith said. “I just always want to be ready and always prepared.”
