Report of the 2020 Olympics: For Enzo Lefort, "it is no longer a sprint but a marathon"

Enzo, what was your feeling when you learned of the postponement of one year of the 2020 Olympics?
Enzo Lefort: It is a relief to have had a decision on the part of the IOC. Now, we know that we will not have to prepare in a vacuum in quotes. We know it is no longer a sprint but a marathon. We will have to save money, take care of our body while staying in shape. But it is sure that morally, it is good to know it because this question of the postponement or not became heavy, including vis-à-vis my relatives who kept asking me if I was going to go to Tokyo this summer or not. Now it's clear.

Does this make containment easier to free, with less training pressure?
Easier to live with, I don't know. Confinement is not easy for anyone. But it lets us know that we are no longer in a sports emergency.

Were you in favor of this one-year postponement? Or would you have preferred a retention or deferral of only two or three months?
I was more for a postponement in October because the sport always goes very fast in terms of time. Those who are in good shape this season will not necessarily be those who will be next year. This will raise many questions in terms of qualifications. Are we going to keep the people who already had their ticket to Tokyo? Or are we going to start from scratch or almost? After all, it is not my responsibility. And then the answer I give you is based only on the sporting aspect. Except that today, it goes well after this health crisis and as such, I think that postponing a year was the wisest decision. This leaves time for the whole world to emerge from this health crisis and afterwards each athlete can try to qualify in decent conditions and then have time to prepare.

“Some are starting to emerge from the crisis, like China, while others are just entering it. For athletes, this means totally different preparations ”

If the Games had taken place this summer, they would have been unequal in your eyes ...
Yes, totally. Already, each country is not managing the crisis in the same way. Some are starting to emerge from the crisis, such as China, while others are just entering it. For athletes, this means totally different preparations, with potentially opposite training conditions. Imagine that the Games take place between July 24 and August 9, and that some countries do not end containment until June 20 or 25, while others are released on May 15. It is not manageable for a top athlete.

In terms of the calendar, this postponement of the Games could result in the cancellation of the World Championships scheduled for 2021…
Yes, for sure, but the Games take precedence over everything else. But for the moment, I am in the dark and I do not know what decision our International Federation will take. It would be a very long two years without Worlds. Perhaps they can make an exception and organize some at the end of this year, if the crisis ends quickly, which is to be hoped. In the meantime, I am trying to respect the confinement instructions because it is the only thing that I really control.

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