Excitement is building for the Games even in this strange fifth year of the cycle with athletes facing mounting pressure
There’s still something inside me that knows it’s a Games year. Even though I last competed at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, it’s almost like my body has become attuned to being ready. You wake up and there’s this feeling: “Wow, I know something special is happening.” And that’s true even in this strange, fifth year of the cycle.
I have a sense of excitement as the Games approaches, but – fortunately – I don’t have any of the pressures; the pressures of qualifying for the Games and now of making sure you’re ready for them. It’s about this point in the buildup that athletes start to really worry. You’re trying to get your form right. But you’re also paranoid about getting injured, and about staying away from anyone who might have a cold. This year, of course, there is Covid to think of too. You catch that, you’re potentially out of the Games or even worse. I can’t imagine what it must be like getting ready for Tokyo right now, people must have wrapped themselves in cotton wool.
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