Concerned about his pregnant sister, worried above all for parents in the United Kingdom because "unfortunately they are over 70 years old" and therefore, in times of coronavirus, the recommendation is to stay "isolated at home" to avoid getting infected. For Fiona May it is not an easy time, yet there is also room for a positive thought such as seeing the eldest daughter compete in the Olympics, after the Tokyo Games were postponed for a year due to the ongoing health emergency .
For the former blue long jump champion, two Olympic silver medals in Atlanta '96 and Sydney 2000, the decision to postpone the five-circle event "is right but I don't understand why it took so long to take it. As a former athlete I can assure you that those who were getting ready experienced this uncertain situation in apnea. My opinion is that time has been lost ".
"The situation has been known for over a month. The virus is causing enormous problems in Europe and is now doing the same in America. No athlete would have been ready for the Games - continues May - The delay dictated by the economic interests at stake? Maybe, but in case it would be a bad thing: the Olympics are the athletes, not the money. Then of course, for Japan it will be a good blow from an economic point of view, but the crisis will be global ".
From a sporting point of view, however, the discussion is different according to Fiona: "After four years of training and sacrifices, she is tough
give up. For young people there are no problems; for those who are at the end of their career, however, it equates to a lost year but, in a situation
like that, one must think first of all about health and the future. And then I'm sure that next year in Tokyo will be a huge party. "
Maybe with one more "guest", that is Larissa Iapichino, 17 year old daughter of Fiona and European under 20 long jump champion just like her mother. "I don't talk about it as a superstition. In July the Junior World Championships were scheduled in Nairobi and it is a shame for her not to be able to do them, but in one year anything can happen and it may be that you earn an Olympiad ...", admits the May, who in this period of forced isolation follows her 10-year-old second daughter at home without forgetting the social commitment: "After the one in Ethiopia last year, I am preparing another Don Bosco Mission".
