Michelle Carter’s first hint of change came from the dwindling chicken supply at Costco.
As the 2016 Olympic shot put gold medalist and Red Oak native was grocery shopping a few weeks ago, she noticed all chicken was sold out and wondered if she’d missed a sale.
She hadn’t.
She instead learned she needed to pay attention to something else:
The worldwide COVID-19 coronavirus concerns that have forced the suspension of professional and amateur sports leagues, shuttered businesses and daily social life and, on Tuesday, prompted the postponement of the 2020 Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee’s announcement ended weeks of speculation about the Games’ status amid a global pandemic that wasn’t sure to slow by the July 24 opening ceremony. And it elicited a mix of reactions — from grief, relief, uncertainty and resilience — from Dallas-area Olympic hopefuls and qualifiers who now face an unprecedented path toward Tokyo.
“The goal doesn’t change. The plan to get to the goal changes,” Carter said. “Some people have a hard time adjusting when the plan changes, but when the plan changes, you don’t give up on your goal. You just find another way to get to your goal.”
For the past several weeks, as officials across the world have called for social distancing and public isolation measures, Olympic athletes have grappled with a lose-lose proposition.
They could either continue training — with increasing risk of contracting the highly contagious virus at their gyms and facilities — to continue years-long plans in pursuit of the Games. Or they could take a break with health in mind, only to feel guilty about not working toward the Games, which hadn’t yet been formally rearranged.
Carter was pleased the IOC, under pressure from several national governing bodies and Olympic committees in recent days, helped make the decision for her.
The IOC said in its joint announcement with the Tokyo Organizing Committee that the Games will still be called the 2020 Olympics, though they will be held in 2021.
The committee did not include new dates or updated information on qualification procedures. Some athletes had already earned their 2020 spots, but some sports haven’t yet allocated all berths.
“Obviously, they’re making the right decision, as far as the health and welfare of the athletes and everyone that’s involved,” said Vincent Hancock, a Fort Worth resident and three-time Olympian in skeet shooting. “All of those people need to be taken care of, for sure. But purely from an athlete’s perspective, it’s still tough to hear.”
With an uncertain upcoming timeline, athletes are uncertain how to reorganize training plans.
Hancock, who won gold in 2008 and 2012, earned his fourth Olympic berth earlier this month. He hopes his qualification will hold through 2021. That would ensure he doesn’t again endure the rigorous selection process and allow him to take the physical and mental break he expected to have this fall.
Jesuit and TCU graduate Tom Scott, an Olympic karate hopeful, has become creative with home workout programs. He spent Monday on a video call with members of Plano’s Academy of Classical Karate to focus on core exercises and Tuesday at Plano Senior High’s outdoor track to sprint.
Scott faced disappointment weeks earlier when coronavirus concerns halted the first phase of Olympic qualification through the World Karate Federation, leaving him just outside the cutoff for the early berths.
Now he feels rejuvenated — as makeshift plans for upcoming qualification rounds were also in limbo — while still instructing his students through online karate lessons.
“I don’t even know how to describe how I’m feeling,” Scott said, “because I have mixed feelings about it.”
Carter has remained connected in the USA Track and Field discussion with athletes and administrators as a representative on the organization’s board of directors. She has had to rework her approach without access to her Dallas-area gym and without guarantee national meets this summer will be viable.
Still, she’s kept a sense of humor.
“I just saw a meme on the Internet saying throwers [have] been practicing social distancing from track for a long time because a lot of times the throwing area is outside the track,” Carter said.
“I don’t have to worry about that because it’s just me and my dad [as my coach] and we’re more than six feet apart.”
Find more of The Dallas Morning News’ coverage of the coronavirus here.
