The push to postpone the Tokyo Games began in a backyard pool in Atherton, Calif. That is where Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel, Olympic gold medalists and global swimming icons, have found themselves in recent days.
It was the starkest example of the training chaos enveloping U.S. swimmers. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, schools closed and took their pools with them. The Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs—a constant beacon for national team members—went dark. Public facilities, private facilities, everything was shutting down.
On March 16, the International Olympic Committee had taken a stubborn stance that the Tokyo Games should proceed as planned, offering a tone-deaf encouragement for athletes to “do their best” to keep training.