Slovenian Janja Garnbret, the world's top female climber, is staying calm and focused despite the coronavirus outbreak playing havoc with sports events around the world and plunging preparations for the Tokyo Olympics into chaos.
SHOWS: LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA (MARCH 13, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) SLOVENIAN CLIMBER AND TWO-TIME COMBINED WORLD CHAMPION, JANJA GARNBRET, SAYING: "Right now, we are a little bit, how to say, scared or worried if the Olympics will take place or not.
My trainings are going full speed onwards.
I am not stopping the training because of that (coronavirus)." 2.
WHITE FLASH 3.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) SLOVENIAN CLIMBER AND TWO-TIME COMBINED WORLD CHAMPION, JANJA GARNBRET, SAYING: "Yes of course it would be hard if the Olympics was postponed for a year but it would also be weird to have an Olympics without spectators because that is the charm of the competition, to have everybody clapping, cheering and supporting you." 4.
WHITE FLASH 5.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) SLOVENIAN CLIMBER AND TWO-TIME COMBINED WORLD CHAMPION, JANJA GARNBRET, SAYING: "Anyway, I am not so worried about that because I will just keep training hard but if the Olympics will be, then they will be super good and if they will be postponed - I know it is the best for athletes, staff for everyone - so if the Olympics need to be postponed for a year then what can we do?
There is no point in stressing over it." 6.
WHITE FLASH 7.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) SLOVENIAN CLIMBER AND TWO-TIME COMBINED WORLD CHAMPION, JANJA GARNBRET, WHEN ASKED IF POSTPONEMENT WOULD MESS WITH HER PREPARATIONS, SAYING: "I think it wouldn't mess.
Every year I am training hard for the competitions and every year I am in the same ritual.
I start to train hard in December and then I train hard the whole winter.
So it wouldn't mess with my preparations because anyway I would prepare myself for every competition.
So, I think if it was postponed then it wouldn't be such a problem because I would be training hard anyway." STORY: Slovenian Janja Garnbret, the world's top female climber, is staying calm and focused despite the coronavirus outbreak playing havoc with sports events around the world and plunging preparations for the Tokyo Olympics into chaos.
The 21-year-old is one of some 10,000 athletes preparing to compete at the Tokyo Games, which organisers insist will go ahead as scheduled from July 24 even as the global sports calendar has ground to a halt due to the pandemic.
The flu-like virus has infected more than 212,000 people and caused 8,700 deaths in 164 nations.
Garnbret, the reigning two-time world champion in the combined climbing event set to make its Olympics debut in Tokyo, has qualified for the Games already but others are not so lucky.
So far, 15 of the 20 Olympic spots for the women's event are filled but two further qualification events have been cancelled.
With a little over four months to go, all Garnbret can do is keep her head down and train at home in Ljubljana.
Even if the Games were pushed back by a year Garnbret said she would be able to adapt.
"Every year I am training hard for the competitions and every year I am in the same ritual; I start to train hard in December and then I train hard the whole winter," she said.
"So, I think if it was postponed then it wouldn't be such a problem because I would be training hard anyway." One possibility being floated is that the Games are held without spectators but Garnbret wants a full house to watch her bid to win climbing's first Olympic gold.
Carissa Moore gives her thoughts on the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
