The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Hopefuls take in stride postponement of event
The 2020 Summer Olympics’ being delayed was all but inevitable considering the coronavirus outbreak.
The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo being delayed was all but inevitable, considering the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
That was the feeling from threetime gold medalist Tianna Bartoletta of Elyria and Olympic hopeful Matt Ludwig, a world-class pole vaulter from Chardon who graduated from Lake Catholic.
When rumors began circulating March 23 the postponement was forthcoming, Bartoletta — who won gold in 2012 and 2016 as a member of the U.S. women’s 4x100 relay team and then gold in the long jump in 2016 — went to Twitter to express a sense of relief.
“I’d like to get off this roller coaster soon. Please and thank you,” Bartoletta wrote in a March 23 tweet. Later March 23, she also tweeted: “Dreams have NOT been cancelled. Only delayed. Stay in it. Stay safe. Stay focused.”
The decision to move the Summer Olympics back a year instead of the event being canceled was reassuring to Ludwig, who was hoping to earn his first Olympic spot after an outstanding college career at the University of Akron.
“I felt this year was my big shot at reaching my Olympic dream, but it’s not a deal breaker for me,” Ludwig told The News-Herald by phone. “This is basically the rookie season of my professional career, so if anything (the year ahead) is an extra season for me to improve and continue to get better. It’s just a little delay.”
Ludwig was having a banner first season as a pro after the completion of a college career that saw him earn multiple All-America honors and a national championship.
The highlight was when on Feb. 14 Ludwig earned a spot at the World Indoor Track and Field Championship.
He earned that spot when he won the pole vault competition at USA Track and Field Indoor Nationals at Albuquerque, N.M. But that opportunity went by the wayside when the outbreak of the virus made hosting the event impossible.
The Worlds scheduled for March 13-15 in Nanjing, China, was postponed until 2021 because of COVID-19. It’s been rescheduled for
next March.
Ludwig won in Albuquerque with a career-best vault of 19 feet, 2.25 inches. In his last meet in Mexico, he did even better with a jump of 19-4.5, which currently ranks among the world’s best indoor jumps. Ludwig had also met the Olympic
standard. He and Bartoletta were hoping to qualify for Tokyo at the June 1928 U.S. Olympic Trials that were scheduled in Eugene, Ore.
The time off might help Bartoletta, who had yet to qualify for Tokyo. That’s because she recently told
The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram an ankle issue and a development of anemia were slowing her training efforts. When Bartoletta visited her doctor in December, things took a turn for the worse as she was diagnosed with a tumor in her uterus. Shortly after,
she had emergency surgery, but has since recovered and is back training.
Ludwig is also continuing his work but for many in the United States, most training facilities are closed, thus making highscale training — especially for a pole vaulter — a bigtime
challenge.
“My training has been severely impacted,” said Ludwig. “A typical day for me was wake up, go to the Akron field house, spent four to five hours there every day day. But that closed about a week ago. Right now, you do the best you can.”