Olympic delay alters champ’s outlook

The decision to push back the Tokyo Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic has left New Zealand Olympic single sculls champion Mahe Drysdale struggling for motivation and unsure if he wants to take part in the rescheduled event next year.

The 41-year-old, who has represented New Zealand in four Olympics, winning gold in Rio and London and bronze in Beijing, planned to retire after competing at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

“I had just returned from a training camp and felt I had made some huge improvements in my rowing,” Drysdale wrote in a blog post. “Two days later, it was announced the Olympics were postponed till 2021.

“In one day, I went from being on a high to lacking all motivation and questioning if I even wanted to go to the Olympics.”

Drysdale said he had never before experienced a similar drop in energy and that the postponement had taken a mental toll.

He said he will decide in the next few weeks whether to participate in 2021.

The global soccer players union FIFPRO says there’s been a sharp rise in the number of players reporting symptoms of depression or anxiety since the sport was brought to a standstill by COVID-19.

FIFPRO said 22 per cent of female players and 13 per cent of men who took part in a survey reported symptoms “consistent with a diagnosis of depression,” such as lack of interest, appetite, energy and self-esteem.

This compared to 11 per cent and six per cent, respectively, in a similar survey conducted in December and January.

FIFPRO said the survey, conducted with the Amsterdam University Medical Centre, included 1,134 male players, with a mean age of 26, and 468 female players, with a mean age of 23, in 16 countries. Reuters