Olympic athlete concerned over football social distancing
Footage of teams celebrating with no social distancing has raised eyebrows and questions
An Olympic medallist who hopes to build on her success in Rio is worried about elite sport being allowed to continue under lockdown after footage emerged showing football teams celebrating with no apparent social distancing.
Emily Diamond, who won bronze in the 4x400m relay in the 2016 games, is concerned about the future of athletes right to train under lockdown restrictions, after videos of the aftermath of various FA Cup matches were posted online, sparking criticism.
While the matches went ahead, cases continue to surge and the number of covid related deaths in the UK surpassed 80,000.
Olympic preparation would be "very difficult" without lockdown exemption
Emily tells us if the elite athlete exemption from lockdown is revoked with the Tokyo Olympics still set to go ahead this summer, it will be almost impossible to adequately prepare.
"I know personally last year (during the first lockdown) I wasn't on a track for two months and had limited access to a gym," she said.
"If that was to happen this year and the Olympics still go ahead, it would be very difficult to try and make the Olympic team, because we would still need to qualify, but also if we did make the Olympic team, we want to do well...and trying to train and to compete at our normal standard having been away from a track would be very difficult."
There are different rules for different venues
Originally from Bristol, Emily is currently deemed "elite" by virtue of being on the UK Athletics funding programme, but unlike in football where professional players have guaranteed access to their team's training facilities, in athletics even if you are deemed elite, whether you can continue to train is not guaranteed.
"Only certain sports clubs fall under the elite sport status," she says.
"So you might be classified as an elite athlete yourself but unless you're training at a facility that is also listed under the elite guidlines, then you wouldn't be able to train.
"Luckily I train at Bath University and Loughborough University and those two facilities are considered elite.
"If I was training at my local club in Bristol then that wouldn't be considered an elite facility so I wouldn't be able to train."
Football celebrations have drawn criticism on Twitter
Meanwhile, Government ministers are said to be concerned that images of sports teams celebrating, in clear breach of COVID guidelines, could make it difficult to defend its continuation.
Strict guidelines for athletes
But Emily says in athletics, coronavirus guidelines are very strict.
"There are protocols in place that we have to follow daily," she says.
"We have to take daily temperature checks, fill out daily questionnaires, wear masks.
"We still have to socially distance ourselves while training....When we're in the gym we have to disinfect every piece of equipment we touch both before and after we use it."
She adds though that she understands health and safety for everyone is more important than the Olympics going ahead.
"Obviously I fully understand that elite sport isn't the most important thing right now," she adds.
"But I do hope the Olympics can still go ahead and we can prepare for it as normally as we can while being in a global pandemic."
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