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Walker Webcast: Staying in the Game for a Rescheduled Summer Olympics
Five-time gold medalist Katie Ledecky and the rest of the U.S. Olympic team were originally scheduled to be in Tokyo right about now, representing the nation in the quadrennial games that draw some 10,000 participating athletes from 206 countries. Instead, Ledecky has been swimming upwards of 8,000 meters per day in “probably the nicest backyard pool in the country,” as part of her preparation for what will now be the 2021 Summer Games.
Ledecky and Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, appeared on the latest Walker Webcast with Walker & Dunlop CEO Willy Walker to discuss the postponement of the 2020 Summer Games in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and the road ahead. The late-March decision to reschedule the Olympics wasn’t easy to reach, but it was the right choice, said Hirshland.
“It became clear to us that having the Games this summer was not going to be possible,” she said. Ledecky noted that from the athletes’ standpoint, there was initial uncertainty in March about whether the Games would be canceled, postponed or presented on schedule with little time for the team to prepare.
Rescheduling has meant a host of logistical challenges. Strictly from a real estate perspective, Hirshland pointed out, there’s the question of re-negotiating occupancy and use for some 40 venues that were built for the Tokyo Games, including housing for the 10,000 participants.
For the USOPC as for its athletes, the postponement has presented financial hurdles. Hirshland said the organization, which would have finished the year with a $75-million surplus, now faces a $75-million deficit instead. Unlike the Olympic committees of many leading nations, the USOPC receives no federal government funding.
On an individual level, although Hirshland was confident that “the vast majority” of the 2020 U.S. team—including Ledecky—would assemble in Tokyo next year, she said some athletes will end up bowing out because of the one-year postponement. Their reasons may stem from funding issues, post-Games education commitments or the desire to move on and start a family.
For Ledecky, “the mental component” represented the biggest adjustment in re-setting her sights on a competition that is now a year away. However, she’s opting to see the delay as an opportunity.
Staying motivated to continue training at Olympic level for one more year, and to continue setting and pursuing goals, “comes back to my love of the sport,” said Ledecky. “Yes, it gets harder and harder to get faster and faster, but that’s what excites me now.”
Photo courtesy of International Olympic Committee.
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- ◦Economy
