Some Olympic hopefuls needed only one more day
With tears in her eyes, Nadine Apetz asked herself “why not one more day?”
The German boxer had waited four years, and a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics was tantalizingly close when the qualifying tournament in London was suspended because of the coronavirus outbreak.
“One day longer and I might have had it,” said Apetz, a 34-yearold welterweight who is studying for a doctorate in neuroscience. “I was crying because I was so disappointed. You are so close to your biggest goal, and it’s all stopped.” The pandemic has forced many Olympic hopefuls to wait it out, but the delay is particularly painful for the European boxers who were on the verge of qualification last month. Several were only one victory away.
The competition at the Copper Box was suspended after three days. A short time later, the Tokyo Games were postponed for one year and are now set to open on July 23, 2021.
“They probably shouldn’t have started it in the first place,” Apetz said, citing public health risks. Fighters including Apetz, Emilie Sonvico of France and Charley Davison of Britain won their opening bouts. If they win their next one, they’ll qualify.
Likewise, lightweights Luke McCormack of Britain and Nikolai Terteryan of Denmark can qualify in their next bout, while their welterweight twin brothers Pat McCormack and Sebastian Terteryan can guarantee spots with
Castle had, he said, been attacked in a “vicious and vitriolic way,” particularly on social media, by “silent forces, dark forces.” “She shared some of that with me, which was, you know, I found quite abhorrent.” Castle was the first woman to lead any of Australia’s major sports.
Her departure ends a turbulent reign marked by a series of crises and escalating financial problems. The coronavirus shutdown piled further pressure on the cashstrapped governing body.
McLean said he would adopt the role of executive chairman “for a very short period” while the hunt begins for Castle’s replacement. two more wins each.
The London competition lasted long enough for 16 boxers to qualify. Among them was British featherweight Peter McGrail. “Tokyo 2020 see ya there,” he wrote on Instagram, followed by an expletive about the virus.
Sixty-one European spots remain available. “It was so painful for me,” the 31-year-old Sonvico, who like Apetz was scheduled to fight again on Day 4, said of leaving London empty-handed. “It’s difficult because we have to go back to training. It’s a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice.”
Like other athletes, they also have practical challenges in lockdown. Davison, a flyweight who
The ex-Wallaby captain also dismissed a letter from several of his fellow former skippers, calling for change at the top of the organization. “Let’s be clear here, it’s a very small collective of people who’ve been involved in the game of late,” set aside earlier Olympic aspirations to start a family, trains at home while co-parenting three young children.
Apetz is trying to finish her Ph.D in neuroscience, examining brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease. Sonvico is an investigator with the gendarmerie, which conducts police duties but under French military jurisdiction. She’s been on leave while with the national team, but that was to end soon.
“If it goes well, I’ll need one more year,” said Sonvico, who uses a rowing machine and heavy bag at home in the south of France. “It’s a problem. The president of the French (boxing) federation is asking the gendarmerie to see what we can do.”
HIGHLIGHTS
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Raelene Castle was attacked in a ‘vicious and vitriolic way,’ particularly on social media.
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Her departure ends a turbulent reign marked by a series of crises and escalating financial problems.
McLean said. “The significance of that group is probably people that aren’t on the list.”
Two-time World Cup-winner John Eales was among a separate group of ex-captains who criticized the letter, while Michael Lynagh asked to be removed as a signatory. McLean said that by December this year, two-thirds of Rugby Australia’s top positions will have changed in a year.
Rugby Australia laid off most of its staff and slashed players’ pay by 60 percent as it grapples with the coronavirus crisis, which looks set to torpedo much of this year’s Wallabies schedule.