COVID-19 has changed life as we know it, and for the first time in modern history, the
Olympics have been postponed. I asked Mike Brown, Amy Hoggart, Mike Rubens, and Allana
Harkin to check in with some Olympic hopefuls and learn how they're coping with quarantine
fatigue. With global cases still on the rise, one thing
is clear: defeating the coronavirus is gonna be a marathon, not a sprint. So how do we
muster the stamina needed to power through? Let’s ask some experts in endurance, Olympic
athletes! I sent Mike Brown to get put through the paces
by artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez, Amy Hoggart to get ripped with weightlifter Sarah Robles,
Mike Rubens to get bent into shape with wrestlers Jaime Espinal and Jane Valencia, and Allana
Harkin to get schooled by Paralympic table tennis player Jack Hunter-Spivey:
- Why are you drinking alcohol at this time? What is it, like, 11:00 in New York?
It’s called breakfast. It’s gonna take athletic determination to
get through this, so let’s have the pros teach us how to put the coronavirus ball in
the ball-hole! How do you take an Olympian approach to what
feels like everything at once? - I’m very big on quotes, and one quote
I do have tattooed on my arm is “Be the change you want to see in the world” from
Gandhi. You have such a positive attitude. How do
you do that? - For me, the lockdown situation was very
daunting. Then my family pulled me around to say, the world’s stopped, but that doesn’t
mean that I have to stop. So we can all use this time to get ourselves better.
Oh, god! Was I supposed to use this time to get better?
- Yeah! One thing we can all get better at is wearing
masks! Which, like condoms, don’t work if you cut a hole in them. Adapting is hard,
but everyone has to do it, even wrestlers trapped with their families.
- People wanna do exercises away from their family. No no no, if they want to be part
of it, make them part of it. I want to do exercise, so I just carry Joy, and I’m doing
this. So, you do toddler curls.
- Look at her face. Okay, but what if I’m afraid of my daughter?
- In wrestling, there’s so many things that you cannot control, and you need to adapt.
We have a saying: just eat it. Do what you have to do.
Unfortunately, I have been eating it. I’ve been eating everything
Ugh, I can't wait for restaurants to open up so I can stop eating quarantine! But for
now, staying home is how we protect each other. And according to Sarah, as long as we’re
stuck inside, we might as well look inside. - We can be strengthening ourselves at home,
our families. So then when it’s time for us to go back out, hopefully we’ll be a
little bit better than we were beforehand. So, what you’re saying is, we should get
ripped, but in our hearts? - Yes! But not to the point where we have
myocardial infarction. Okay, let me write that down.
By the end of this, my heart is going to be huge! But sometimes the best way to show your
love is to keep your distance. Even though isolation may lead to dad jokes.
Anita, what did the artistic swimmer say to the lap swimmer? Stay in your lane. I’ve
just been telling jokes to strangers outside my window. They said I wasn’t funny and
I was like, “Oh, this feels just like the stage.”
- Yeah, it’s been hard, but being able to stay connected with each other has really
helped. Every Friday we have a pan-American call, and a different country leads a different
workout. We’re all in this situation together, and so it’s a good time to just help each
other. Sounds like a good idea!
If only our government could learn to work with other countries! And get enough tests!
And wear a f— mask! Okay, sorry. This is supposed to be positive.
- When you do something that’s hard, you end up proving to yourself that hard isn’t
impossible. - Don’t punish yourself and take it one
decision at a time. - To feel more like we’re doing it all together
makes you feel less alone in all this. Yes! Let’s work together. Anita, can you
teach me some moves? - Yeah sure. Do you have a pool?
I’ll figure something out. Changing our actions only works if we do it
all together, which can only mean one thing: training montage!
This is my home pool. You like? - Yeah, nice pool! Ready? Bend! Lift! Point
your toes! They’re pointed!
- Okay, Minya, listen to me. You are a champion, you can beat him. Stand up!
- Are you ready? Yeah. I’m gonna turn this s— around! Okay
good. Now I’m gonna turn it around! - Let’s start by lifting something together.
- Now, walking... 2, 3… 6, 7, 8! - Let’s go!
- Point your toes! Point your toes! - We’ll hit the ball up and down and say
what things we’re grateful for. - We’re gonna hold our breath on this one.
What? - I’m grateful to have good people around
me and a family who loves me. I’m grateful I’m wearing soft pants.
- We’re gonna do as close to a full squat as we can get.
- Get him down! Double leg! - Double leg, double leg! Boom!
- Yeah! Beat him! - Beat him! Yes!
- Tokyo 2021! Beating coronavirus is not gonna be easy,
and as cities begin to open up, we must remain vigilant! I know we all have chin acne, but
if these athletes can swim without water, lift without weights, and stay positive against
all odds, the rest of us can suck it up and wear a mask like our lives depend on it. Because
they do. - Celebrate! You need to celebrate!
- And you are… champion! - La campeona!