Tokyo 2020 postponed: 2012 Olympic Champion Jordan Burroughs ‘cried’ after Olympic deferment

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday announced the postponement of the Tokyo Games. The decision left many athletes heartbroken. One of them was 2012 London Olympic gold medallist Jordan Burroughs who ‘cried’ after getting the news of Olympics postponement.

He later decided to speak his heart out to the fans through a Twitter post. In the post, the USA wrestler talks about the state of mind he was in after the news broke out and how he is dealing with it.

Burroughs believes that due to the deferment of the Tokyo Games, his dreams have been ‘delayed but not denied’. “My dreams are delayed, but they won’t be denied. I ingest this news, cry about it momentarily and then begin, once again, to prepare in silence”.

With the outbreak of Coronavirus in the USA, the country has been under complete lockdown. This has left him isolated him in his home, away from the wrestling mat. Burroughs, however, says ‘both  [wrestling mat and his house] are dear to him and he considers both as home,” and he adorns it.

The 31-year-old has also found alternatives to continue his training and keep himself well-conditioned. “To fulfil my civic duty, I’ve traded mats for carpet, human bodies for Bulgarian bags, and sprints for Peloton pedal strokes”, Burroughs wrote.

But the postponement of a four-year-long dream is not easy to digest. Keeping oneself motivated for another before realizing the dream is a tiring task. Burroughs, however, is ready to take up the challenge as he believes ‘God has a blueprint for him’ and the ‘gold is still on the table’ ready to be grabbed.

He is not the first one who got emotional after IOC decided to reschedule the Summer Games.

Earlier, Vinesh Phogat also said she now feels empty with the Games getting rescheduled. “I maintain a diary in which I write everything – my weekly plans, thoughts on my training, dreams, ambitions – I was in the zone,” she told Indian Express.

“I had just begun my training when my phone started buzzing. I did not look at it because I knew what it was about. And then when my physio broke the news of postponement, I packed up and went home. Khalipan sa ho gaya (there is a feeling of emptiness.),” she added.

The IOC are yet to decide the new date for the Tokyo-bound extravaganza. In their official statement they, however said it will not be later than 2021 Summers.