Business, Not Pleasure, the Focus for Tokyo-bound Athletes

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - In less than two weeks, Courtney Frerichs will face off in Tokyo against some of the world’s fastest runners. But like every elite athlete preparing for the Summer Olympics, her focus is not only on preparing to compete. 

Frerichs, a middle-distance runner from the United States, is also using the final days of her training to make sure she complies with the elaborate set of rules meant to ensure the Tokyo Games don’t become a COVID-19 superspreader event.   “It’s a lot,” Frerichs told VOA in a recent phone call between training sessions in Portland, Oregon. “We’ve just been trying to review the protocols and everything to make sure that we’re checking all of our boxes and getting all the stuff done, just prior to arriving in Japan.”  Frerichs, who is competing in the steeplechase event in Tokyo, is quick to point out that she understands why the rules are necessary.