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          Limited training facilities lead Olympic hopefuls to adapt

          • Kelly Cohen, ESPNMar 18, 2020, 07:26 PM ET

          While many are focusing on the start of the 2020 Summer Olympics in late July, some U.S. athletes are eyeing an earlier date: June 19.

          That's when the U.S. Olympic trials begin, and as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on the sports world, athletes training for the pinnacle of their careers are focusing on what they can control -- even as there is limited access to training facilities and gyms throughout the country.

          A spokesman for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee told ESPN that there are roughly 200 athletes at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and 50 at the facility in Lake Placid, New York.

          However, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ordered all gyms to close Wednesday, and gyms in New York have been shut down as mandated by both the state government and the Olympic Regional Development Authority.

          Both centers, the spokesman said, are still open and athletes are allowed to stay on campus if they want, and they will have access to dining and medical services. But there are closures that are "specific to training facilities" -- meaning strength and conditioning facilities, pools and gyms are all closed.

          The spokesman said no one has tested positive for the coronavirus at either facility, though it was unclear if everyone at both sites had been tested. One nonresident athlete returned from Europe to Lake Placid and was tested last week and has been in self-quarantine since arriving back in the U.S. The test result was negative, but the athlete will remain in self-quarantine, the spokesman said.

          So athletes in both Colorado and New York are left to get creative with their training.

          In Colorado Springs, there are facilities for boxing, cycling, figure skating, gymnastics, Paralympic judo, the pentathlon, shooting, swimming and wrestling.

          Athletes at the Lake Placid center usually practice the biathlon, bobsled and skeleton, figure skating, hockey, luge, ski and snowboard events and speed skating. Other sports training at the center include boxing, canoe and kayaking events, judo, rowing, synchronized swimming, team handball, water polo and wrestling.

          "Out of training for a month," gymnast Sam Mikulak posted on Instagram. "I know I'm not alone on this, how is everyone else dealing with their Olympic preparation in these times?"

          2012 Olympic silver medalist Haley Anderson was notified Tuesday night of the Colorado Springs closures, and she left Wednesday morning. She told ESPN in a message that the national swimming team camp was there -- about 20 swimmers -- and they were not given much information on what to do "so much of us just went home."

          "[I]'m pretty stressed about it all," she said when asked about training, "but I know that we are all in the same boat."

          Kara Winger competes in the javelin throw for the U.S. track and field team and is a bit more optimistic.

          "I'm grateful to have been able to use the [Colorado Springs] facility as long as I did, and now feeling a sense of solidarity with every high school and college athlete who has sent me messages about how to keep going," she told ESPN in a message. "We're all in this together!"

          Winger said she can luckily train at the U.S. Air Force Academy [in Colorado Springs], and she is working with her coaches as her situation can change every day. She "wouldn't miss it," she said, when asked if she will still go to Tokyo, provided they are "deemed safe to go on."

          Chase Kalisz was in Colorado Springs for 10 days, but he flew back Monday before the closure. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist in the 400-meter individual medley is also taking the optimistic approach.

          "Right now everything is not perfect, but just knowing that the Games aren't canceled, it keeps me going, and I'm sure that's the case for other athletes," Kalisz told ESPN by phone.

          Kalisz said he is lucky because he has access to a pool to continue to train. Though he noted there are a handful of swimmers who don't, especially because colleges and universities have also been forced to close their facilities.

          The difficulties amid uncertain times are not unique to the U.S.

          In a video posted Wednesday night on Twitter, Kirsty Coventry said athletes are mostly "concerned" about their health while training, in addition to the qualification process. Coventry is a member of the International Olympic Committee and also serves as chairperson of the IOC Athletes' Commission, which represents all Olympic athletes worldwide. There was a Wednesday call with more than 220 athlete representatives and IOC experts, she said.

          "We just implore you to keep doing what you're doing. We heard that athletes did want to see the Games happen in July, but we know that the landscape is ever changing," Coventry said.

          "The IOC wants us to keep risking our health, our family's health and public health to train every day?" Katerina Stefanidi said on Twitter. "You are putting us in danger right now, today, not in 4 months."

          Stefanidi, who competes for Greece, won the gold medal in pole vault at the 2016 Rio Games. Greece is on lockdown, as are countries such as France and Spain.

          British heptathlete Katarina Mary Johnson-Thompson posted on Twitter that she was unable to continue training in Spain due to the lockdown, and was heading back to the United Kingdom to modify her program. Johnson-Thompson said she was lucky because she has already qualified for Tokyo -- but not all other athletes share that fortune.

          In a Tuesday statement, the IOC said it is working with international sports federations on the qualification process, and any necessary revisions will be finalized in early April.

          So far, only 57% of the Olympic spots for Tokyo 2020 have been claimed.

          "Any increase in athlete quotas will be considered on a case-by-case basis under exceptional circumstances [with the help of Tokyo's organizing committee]," the IOC said.

          As of now, the Opening Ceremony on July 24 is still a go.