MELBOURNE: Javelin world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber is shutting out the COVID-19 "noise" in the lead up to the Olympics, but the Australian hopes desperately to hear the rumble of fans when she gets set to launch in Tokyo.
As a big-stage performer, Barber said she missed the rush of crowds through the pandemic-hit 2020, and would draw energy from fans at National Stadium during the Games.
"This is going to be a big factor for the Olympics this year. I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels this way," the South Africa-born 29-year-old told Reuters in an interview. "I do use the crowd, I love the crowd and I love to perform. It’s just going to be different this year."
Foreign fans will not be allowed at the Games this year. And authorities recently banned crowds at sporting events in Tokyo and other cities as part of a state of emergency that will last until May 11 to combat a spike in COVID-19 infections.
Organisers might decide it's not worth the risk to have any fans at all at Olympics, which run from July 23 to Aug. 8.
"There are ways you can practise for that and to channel energy in a different way," she said. "I might have to tap into the (energy of the) actual competition, the girls around me and the numbers, and play that game a bit more than normally, if that’s what will fire me up."
Barber, who stayed in Australia last year because of the pandemic, has struggled to get back into the swing of things this year, throwing well below her career-best of 67.70 metres in 2019, when she was world champion.
However, in front of a proper crowd at Australia's recent national athletics championships, she threw above 60m for the first time since 2019.
Her best of 61.09m at Sydney's Olympic Park was second to Commonwealth Games champion Kathryn Mitchell (63.34m), but it was enough for local media to declare Barber had rediscovered her "mojo".
"I’d love to say, like the headlines, that 'I am back'. But I feel like I’m not quite there 100% yet," Barber said. "I did feel more like myself on the runway than I have in the past couple of months."
Her coach, Mike Barber, is also her husband. The Canberra-based couple are always careful about separating sport from home life, even with the Olympics looming.
"This year has been tough. When things are going great and Kelsey’s throwing well, it’s really easy to balance both," Mike Barber told Reuters. "It’s been a different challenge this year with Kelsey struggling with her form a little bit and struggling with her confidence.
"But it’s like anything in life, you find ways to manage the emotional side of it."
Managing the emotions for Kelsey-Lee Barber has meant staying focused on Tokyo, even as health experts call for the already-postponed Games to be put off again.
Barber would like to get to Europe to compete before the Games but concedes they may settle for training in Australia's tropical north to prepare for Japan's summer heat.
If at all possible, the Olympics must go on, Barber said.
"It’s something that can bring nations around the world together and that’s what we need at the moment," she said.
Reuters
Wed Apr 28 2021
As a big-stage performer, Barber said she missed the rush of crowds through the pandemic-hit 2020, and would draw energy from fans at National Stadium during the Games. Filepic/REUTERS
Lebih 800 maut akibat wabak mpox di Afrika
Sebanyak 34,297 kes direkodkan di seluruh benua itu sejak Januari lalu, termasuk 38 kes di Ghana.
AWANI Pagi: Ada apa dengan cinta ekspres?
7.30 pagi Sabtu bersama Dr. Norsafatul Aznin A.Razak, Pensyarah Kanan Jabatan Psikologi Pendidikan dan Kaunseling, Fakulti Pendidikan, Universiti Malaya dan Amni Sahira Muhammad Azam, Kaunselor Pelatih, Fakulti Pendidikan, Universiti Malaya membincangkan mengenai isu hubungan khususnya dalam soal memperjudikan hubungan dengan cinta ekspres.
Banjir Bosnia: Tiada rakyat Malaysia terkesan, Wisma Putra terus pantau rapat keadaan semasa
Setakat ini, tiada rakyat Malaysia dilaporkan terlibat atau terkesan dalam bencana alam tersebut.
19 terkorban akibat banjir, tanah runtuh di Bosnia
Sebahagian besar bandar dan kawasan pedalaman terputus hubungan akibat jalan raya yang ditenggelami air banjir.
Lelaki maut kereta terbabas langgar pokok di Manjung
Mangsa disahkan maut di lokasi oleh pihak Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia.
Durian segar Malaysia di China habis dijual tidak sampai 24 jam
Tidak sampai 24 jam, hampir 40 tan durian segar pertama Malaysia ke China yang dipasarkan pada 26 Ogos lepas di outlet peruncitan terpilih di enam wilayah negara Tembok Besar itu habis terjual.
Keldai akaun ditahan sebabkan kerugian hampir RM60,000
Polis menahan lelaki berumur 58 tahun dipercayai keldai akaun kepada sindiket penipuan yang menawarkan kerja sambilan tidak wujud secara dalam talian sehingga menyebabkan mangsa kerugian RM59,569 baru-baru ini.
Lebih 200 maut akibat taufan Helene di AS
Seramai 200 orang disahkan maut sehingga Jumaat selepas Taufan Helene melanda beberapa negeri di tenggara Amerika Syarikat (AS), menjadikannya ribut paling membahayakan kedua yang melanda AS dalam lebih setengah abad.
Taiwan laksana operasi pembersihan selepas taufan Krathon
Taiwan sedang giat membersihkan kerosakan akibat banjir dan angin kencang selepas Taufan Krathon melanda bandar pelabuhan utama, sementara penduduk di sebahagian besar kawasan lain di pulau itu kembali bekerja dan pasaran kewangan dibuka semula.
AS dakwa Rusia, Iran dan China guna AI sabotaj pilihan raya
Amerika Syarikat (AS) berdepan ancaman dari Rusia, Iran dan China, yang didakwa cuba mempengaruhi Pilihan Raya Presiden 2024 dengan menggunakan kecerdasan buatan (AI) untuk menyebarkan maklumat palsu serta mencetuskan perpecahan.