S. Korean athletes coping with uncertainty, anxiety ahead of Olympics during pandemic

▲ South Korean fencer Gu Bon-gil speaks at a press conference at the National Training Center in Jincheon, 90 kilometers south of Seoul, on April 14, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ South Korean gymnast Yang Hak-seon speaks at a press conference at the National Training Center in Jincheon, 90 kilometers south of Seoul, on April 14, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ South Korean swimmer Hwang Sun-woo speaks at a press conference at the National Training Center in Jincheon, 90 kilometers south of Seoul, on April 14, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ South Korean table tennis player Shin Yu-bin trains at the National Training Center in Jincheon, 90 kilometers south of Seoul, on April 14, 2021. (Yonhap)

S Korea-Olympic athletes

S. Korean athletes coping with uncertainty, anxiety ahead of Olympics during pandemic

JINCHEON, South Korea, April 14 (Yonhap) -- As he was preparing for the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for this summer, South Korean fencer Gu Bon-gil was so locked in that the global coronavirus pandemic seemed foreign to him -- until one of his teammates tested positive.

Oh Sang-uk, Gu's teammate in men's sabre, came down with COVID-19 after returning from a competition in Hungary last month. He was only released from hospital this week and is recuperating at home.

Oh, the world No. 1 and a heavy gold medal favorite in Tokyo, was not available for the press conference on Wednesday marking the 100-day countdown to the Olympics. Gu, the 2012 Olympic champion ranked ninth in the world, shared his concerns about competing in the first Olympics to be held during the current COVID-19 era.

"Sang-uk said he was pretty sick, and we fencers are worried (about getting infected), to be honest," Gu said at the National Training Center in Jincheon, 90 kilometers south of Seoul. "I think it's better to be vaccinated than not, even though I have some concerns (about side effects) as well. I'd like to get it as soon as possible."

With travel restrictions wiping out international competitions over the past year or so, Gu admitted to losing motivation and sense of purpose.

"There's only so much training you can do at home," Gu said. "Trying to get everyone on the same page has also been a challenge."

Gu said he is aware of people's reservations about holding an Olympics during the pandemic, but athletes have a much different perspective.

"People who aren't in our position won't realize this, but this is really important for us," Gu said. "Every athlete out there wants to compete in the Olympics."

Artistic gymnast Yang Hak-seon, the 2012 Olympic men's vault champion, said there hasn't been quite the same amount of excitement in Jincheon usually seen in the buildup to Olympics.

"We're not allowed to leave the ground here, and there aren't as many athletes around training as before," Yang said, referring to coronavirus-related restrictions. "So the mood here has been pretty quiet. I didn't realize there were only 100 days left until I came here for this event."

Yang said he was more concerned about day-to-day preparation than vaccines or COVID-19.

"We're just trying to keep things light on our gymnastics team, and we're looking forward to the Olympics," Yang added.

Freestyle swimmer Hwang Sun-woo, the world junior record world in the men's 200 meters, recalled having trouble finding pools last year and said, "I am grateful that I get to train here and have a place to swim."

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