Simone Byers’ mother said that the family of Olympic athletes can maintain social distancing at the venue

Many athletes and their families expressed disappointment at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics spectator ban Olympic Games, Including Simone Byers’ mother, Nellie Byers, who said she thought social distancing could have played a role in the stadium.

Nellie Biles and her husband run a gymnastics training center in Texas and are therefore familiar with COVID-19 restrictions and protocols, but she believes that the 12,000-seat Tokyo venue will provide enough space for athletes’ families.

“We can keep social distance without meeting. This is their complex, how big their venue is,” she said. “It’s hard for me to understand that they can’t make adjustments. Of course, it’s just me being selfish. This will be a gymnastics competition that I will never forget because I will not attend.”

Some athletes’ families decided to hold a viewing party at home to support their loved ones from a distance, but Nellie Biles said she would not attend.

“I will watch gymnastics at home alone,” she said. “I’m just too nervous.”

For more reports from the Associated Press, please see below.

Michael Phelps walked through the barbed wire near the swimming pool and reached for his mother’s hand. The 19-year-old swimmer just won his first Olympic medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics—a gold medal of course, and he wants to share it with the woman who raised him alone.

In the Tokyo Olympics postponed by the pandemic, such moments between relatives will not happen.

Most venues do not allow local or foreign spectators to enter, and athletes hang medals around their necks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. There was no handshake or hug on the podium.

“I like to forage from the crowd,” said defending all-around champion gymnast Simone Byers, “so I’m a little worried about what I will do in this situation.”

Seeing familiar faces in the game can provide support for athletes on the big stage. It helped Matthew Centrowitz participate in the American circuit test, where fans were allowed.

“Seeing my family in the crowd and hearing them gives me a bit of comfort. I need to hear and see things to calm my nerves,” said Centrovitz, the defending Olympic champion in 1500 meters.

The youngest athlete on the Tokyo American team called it “weird” that her family would not appear in the stands.

Katie Grimes, a 15-year-old swimmer from Las Vegas, said: “They usually appear in all my competitions.”

Katie Hoff was the same age as Grimes, when she was the youngest member of the U.S. team in Athens. In her first game, she was nervous and Hough was breathing fast and vomiting on the pool deck.

“I hope we older swimmers can show them some ropes and create this kind of family environment,” said three-time Olympic athlete Katie Ledecky. “We will make sure to keep in touch with our family and let them know what we are doing.”

For health and safety reasons, it was decided to ban the use of fans. The Tokyo Olympics will be held during a state of emergency, and in a country where 16.8% of the population is fully vaccinated, the coronavirus infection rate is rising. Variants of the coronavirus are also appearing all over the world.

The reaction shots of those family members who are excited, shocked, or crying in the stands? forget it. Singing, chanting and cheering amongst the flag-waving fans in the stadium? TV producers will have to look elsewhere. Phelps’ then 3-month-old son Boomer became a lovely sight of the Olympic swimming pool in 2016. Children are not allowed to enter this time.

When they are not watching the game on various devices, those who raise them, comfort them, support them and encourage them to survive injuries and failures must be content with their athletes to keep up with them through phone calls, text messages, and video chats.

“She said,’I can see more clearly on TV anyway,'” Dutch swimmer Kira Toussaint said of her mother Jolanda de Rover (Jolanda de Rover). Rover), she was the gold medalist in swimming at the 1984 Olympics.

During the pandemic, building support and camaraderie among athletes who usually play alone has new importance for coaches. They are turning to veterans to inform and appease young novices.

“If our relatives can come to Tokyo to watch the game, we will have to rely more on each other,” said Lindsay Mingke, the national team director of the United States Swimming Team. “This connection may be stronger because we don’t have that outlet.”

American high jumper Vashti Cunningham will have her coach Randall Cunningham, who is also her father. But she will miss the rest of the family.

“Went to dinner with them, they participated in the Bible study with me, everything was fine, and it felt good to go to the store,” she said. “But it doesn’t matter to me whether there are fans. I’m really excited to go out and jump. However, I do hope that our family can come and watch.”

American discus athlete Mason Finley is about to take his Nintendo Switch to squat in the sports village to play endless games, while his pregnant wife and two dogs are waiting at home.

“I just want to build a nest there and keep entertaining,” he said.

The family of swimmer Chad Le Clos is flying to the United States to watch TV because the game will be aired in their hometown of South Africa at 3 in the morning.

“It must have been bad to see me at 3 in the morning,” Le Clos said. “Then what will you do from now on?”

Caeleb Dressel is the most dominant male swimmer in the world. He has almost no chance to see, let alone spend time with his wife and family in big competitions.

“It’s not something I rely on,” he said. “I know they will go home, you can feel that energy, and I can text or FaceTime when I need it.”