The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people around the world to cope with unprecedented and unknown circumstances. Amidst the global coronavirus outbreak, Alexi Pappas—a Greek American, 2016 Olympian, actor, writer and Greek national record holder in the 10,000 meters—is currently training across the Atlantic for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
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On the day that mass gatherings were banned and public spaces were shuttered, my coach and I arrived at our regular track facility in the port city of Patras, Greece, to find the doors locked. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, we understood that this was for our community’s safety, but there was still a moment of frustration—nearly everything in my normal routine was thrown into disarray.