Because of the vaccine timeline and simple economics 鈥� 73 percent of the International Olympic Committee鈥檚 revenue comes from TV broadcasts 鈥� it is becoming obvious that the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will take place this summer.
Defenders Callum Montgomery of Lantzville and Thomas Meilleur-Gigu猫re of Pacific FC are on their way to Mexico with the Canadian soccer team to the CONCACAF regional Tokyo Olympics qualifying tournament beginning March 19 in Guadalajara. The Olympic basketball qualifying tournament is set for Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre from June 29 to July 4. The Canadian men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 rugby sevens teams, safely qualified for Tokyo, are readying for the Games at their Langford training base.
But outside of team sports, the qualifying process remains murky, with events and chances likely to remain spotty leading into the Olympics.
Athletics sa国际传媒 was expecting to send a team of 60 for the Tokyo Olympics but only 24 Canadian track and field athletes have so far qualified because of the dearth of meets over the past year. According to the Canadian Press, 28 of sa国际传媒鈥檚 35 summer national sport organizations have not yet filled out their rosters for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
The track meet held at Centennial Stadium on Saturday, the second of three this winter and spring, was to ready athletes for when those qualifying opportunities arise. Only 50 people were allowed into the stadium on the University of Victoria campus, including runners, coaches and timers.
Star Canadian athlete Melissa Bishop, who has been based in Victoria for the winter, used it as a training exercise and did not run her 800 metres speciality, but instead the 1,500 metres.
鈥淚 had an achy Achilles and I have to get back on the track in competition to test it out and see where I鈥檓 at,鈥� said Bishop, 2015 world championship silver medallist in the 800 metres and fourth place in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
鈥淏ut I feel good now. Things are going well.鈥�
Bishop broke Victoria runner Diane Cummins鈥� longstanding Canadian women鈥檚 800-metre record, which stood for 14 years, by going 1:57.52 in 2015 and improving that to 1:57.01 in 2017. But that doesn鈥檛 count for Tokyo. Bishop鈥檚 fastest time over the past year is 2:00.98 from February 2020 and that was run indoors.
鈥淚 have to get the qualifying standard for Tokyo [1:59.50],鈥� she said.
Bishop knows what that entails. 鈥淚 am going to have to travel [out of the country] to get it,鈥� she said.
Things are opening up in sports in the U.S. with several meets planned. Bishop realizes that will be a time-consuming cross-border process involving quarantines.
The best chances in sa国际传媒 will be the Olympic trials, June 24 to 27, in Montreal. There is also the recently announced Harry Jerome Classic on June 12 in three locations 鈥� track events at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, the javelin and jumps at UBC and the circle throws at Kamloops 鈥� to keep participant numbers at each venue within provincial health guidelines.
鈥淲ho would have thought last March there would be all these hoops to jump through?鈥� said two-time Olympic marathoner Bruce Deacon of Victoria, now a coach.
Deacon coaches two Tokyo Paralympics track hopefuls from the Island, including 2016 Rio Paralympics silver-medallist Liam Stanley, who raced Saturday.
鈥淟iam is in a good spot,鈥� Deacon said. 鈥淏ut Michael Barber is chasing times and we have to find those racing opportunities for him. He is injured, but will return soon.
鈥淨ualifying is really difficult in this situation. This is loopy. Racing is very limited here. If I was an Olympic athlete, I would be in the U.S. or Europe. Meets are a lot more open there.鈥�
That鈥檚 where a lot of Canadian hopefuls are likely to be headed.
