After two years of postponements, cancellations and virtual participation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 126th Boston Marathon returned to its regular Patriot’s Day schedule on April 18, 2022. The race — which, according to the Associated Press, consisted of over 28,000 runners — celebrated more than just a return to normalcy. The race also marked the 50th anniversary of women’s official participation in the event.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
By Gigi Picard ’22
Sports Editor
After a year-long wait, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games have officially kicked off. Due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in Japan that led to a state of emergency, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are not allowing spectators. Now, the athletes are paying the price — and not just from a lack of fans to cheer them on. The athletes themselves are testing positive for the coronavirus, resulting in either self-isolation from other athletes or disqualification from the Olympics altogether. CNBC reported that two days before the opening ceremony of the games, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the world is on the verge of another wave of the pandemic.
After they arrived at the Olympic Village, three members from South Africa’s football team tested positive for COVID-19. CNN reported the three as football players Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi and video analyst Mario Masha. As a result, the entire South African Olympic team went into quarantine.
The most recent example of an athlete testing positive for COVID-19 was USA pole vaulter Sam Kendricks. According to ESPN, he took home a bronze medal in the 2016 Olympics and gold at the past two world championships, and holds the American record for the highest jump at 19 feet and 10.5 inches. Kendricks will not be able to compete in the Olympics, though some of his teammates are still permitted to. He reportedly showed no symptoms and is currently isolating at a hotel. Several Australian track and field athletes were briefly told to isolate as well, as they were in contact with Kendricks.
The Guardian reported the number of COVID-19 cases in the Olympic Village has hit 198.
The Games themselves will feature 33 sports, with baseball, softball, skateboarding, karate, sports climbing and surfing added to the program. It began July 23, 2021 with the televised opening ceremony. One day before the ceremony took place, the creative director of the opening ceremony, Kentaro Kobayashi, was fired. CBS News reported that a video of a 1998 comedy routine he performed resurfaced, in which he seemed to “joke about the Holocaust.” The Associated Press shared a statement by Olympic Organizing Committee President Seiko Hashimoto. “We found out that Mr. Kobayashi, in his own performance, has used a phrase ridiculing a historical tragedy. We deeply apologize for causing such a development the day before the opening ceremony and for causing troubles and concerns to many involved parties as well as the people in Tokyo and the rest of the country," Hashimoto said.
The televised event was hosted by sportscaster Mike Tirico and co-anchor of Today Savannah Guthrie. According to NBC Sports Group, Tirico said the Opening Ceremony “is a memorable part of any Olympic Games, but perhaps it has never carried more meaning given the circumstances the world has been facing.” Guthrie also offered insight, saying, “[People] want to watch that moment when someone’s life changes before your eyes. I’m excited. I think people are going to really catch the fever. There is nothing like the Olympics.”
The ceremony lasted approximately four hours. NBC Sports reported drones flying over the sky during the ceremony to create an image of the Earth, with fireworks displayed as well. The ceremony also featured tap dancers dressed as carpenters, who danced as other performers assembled Olympic rings out of wood from Japanese trees. The seeds of the trees were planted by athletes of various countries who participated in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Additionally, athletes from 205 countries, including the Refugee Olympic Team, came out in Japanese alphabetical order, each with at least one flag bearer. The International Olympic Committee insisted on both a male and female flag bearer per country to promote gender equality; however, not all nations complied, with some having a sole male or female flag bearer. The final three teams were Japan, France and the United States, as they are either future host countries or the current host country.
The finale of the ceremony consisted of a torch relay, concluding with Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka lighting the Olympic cauldron.
Several major Olympic stories have come from women’s sports in judo, swimming and gymnastics.
Japanese brother and sister judokas became the first siblings to win gold on the same day, according to Today. Uta Abe defeated her opponent in the women’s 52-kilogram category. “This was a dream for us,” Uta told reporters, when asked about achieving simultaneous gold medals with her brother. “It makes me believe dream comes true as long as I try to achieve it.” Her brother, Hifumi, won gold in the men’s 66-kilogram category, hours after Uta.
Meanwhile, in the pool, Lydia Jacoby made headlines at NBC News as the first American from Alaska to swim in the Olympic Games. Jacoby took home gold in the 100-meter breaststroke, dethroning fellow American Lilly King, who won bronze. The Olympic pool is 50 meters, but since there is only one 50-meter pool in Alaska, Jacoby is used to training in short course yards. Still, that didn’t stop her from dominating at the Olympic scale. “I was definitely racing for a medal,” Jacoby said. “I knew I had it in me. I wasn’t really expecting a gold medal, so when I looked up and saw the scoreboard, it was insane.”
Even with major successes in the pool, the main story of this week came from women’s gymnastics. Partway through the team finals, U.S. gold medal favorite Simone Biles pulled out of the competition after the vault event, due to a medical issue she later revealed was tied to her mental health. “Warmup in the back went a little bit better, but then once I came out here, I was like, no, mental is not there, so I just need to let the girls do it and focus on myself,” Biles said.
Biles scored a 13.766 out of a possible 15.8 points during the vault because of an unexpected switch in her routine. The four-time Olympic gold medalist competed in Team USA's first rotation, bailing out of her Amanar and only completing a 1.5 twist on a 2.5-twisting Yurchenko, then taking a big stumble on the landing. Her teammates knew immediately that something was wrong when Biles seemed to lose her place in the air during the vault. In the qualifying rounds, Biles had a score of 15.183. Since her withdrawal, Biles has revealed on social media that she is struggling with a phenomenon gymnasts call “the twisties” — a dangerous kind of mid-air vertigo that can be extremely hard to shake. Last Friday, Biles said she “literally can not tell up from down.”
Without Biles, the United States women’s team won the silver medal. Biles hoped to continue competing in the individual events, which includes the individual all-around and individual apparatus events — floor exercise, beam, vault and uneven bars. CNBC reported Biles also pulled out of the individual all-around, an event in which she won gold at the 2016 Rio Games.
“[Biles] will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week’s individual event finals,” USA Gymnastics commented. “We wholeheartedly support [Biles]’ decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.” Her teammate Jade Carey took her place in the all-around final, alongside Suni Lee for Team USA. Carey had originally placed ninth in the qualifying rounds.
In an interview with Hoda Kotb on the Today show, Biles said, “Physically, I feel good. I’m in shape. Emotionally, it varies on the time and moment. Coming to the Olympics and being head star isn’t an easy feat.”
During an interview with Tirico, retired Olympic USA swimmer Michael Phelps discussed how he can relate to Biles. “We carry a lot of things, a lot of weight on our shoulders. And it’s challenging, especially when we have the lights on us and all of these expectations that are being thrown on top of us,” Phelps said.
Lee, the first Hmong American to participate in the Olympic Games, took gold in the individual all-around. Biles shared a video of Lee dancing with the medal on her Instagram with text saying: “THE QUEEN HAS ARRIVED.”
According to the latest available updates from NBC Olympics, Biles has pulled out of the vault, floor and uneven bar individual event finals. Her teammate MyKayla Skinner will take her place in the vault finals after originally placing fourth in the qualifying rounds. In response to her choice, USA Gymnastics stated, “We remain in awe of Simone, who continues to handle this situation with courage and grace, and all of the athletes who have stepped up during these unexpected circumstances.”
Meanwhile, across other sports Olympic and world records continue to be shattered by male and female athletes alike. For example, in men’s sports, 27-year-old Shi Zhiyong of China lifted 364 kilograms in weightlifting, breaking his own world record and earning him gold in back-to-back Olympics. Then, in men’s swimming, the United States’ Caeleb Dressel and Australia’s Izaac Stubblety-Cook were two of several swimmers who set Olympic records and won individual gold medals. In women’s swimming, Zhang Yufei of China won an individual gold medal and set an Olympic record time, as well as helping China set a world record time in the women’s 4 x 200 freestyle relay event.
The overall medal count has the United States in first place, China in second place and the Russian Olympic Committee in third.
There’s less than a week left of the 2020 Olympic Games. To track the sports that are beginning this week, refer to the table.
The summer paralympic games will begin on Aug. 24 and end on Sep. 5, 2021.
As the COVID-19 vaccine rollouts continue, the sports world has turned its focus onto the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Last year, the 2020 Olympic games were postponed until 2021 because of the pandemic. Since workout facilities had to shut down, the Olympic hopefuls needed to find a way to stay in shape. Some athletes were able to rely on home gyms, while others came up with creative alternatives depending on their sport. One climber made use of their kitchen and basement.
Mount Holyoke student-athletes spent the summer waiting for news about future practice and competition schedules, which were made uncertain by the COVID-19 pandemic. For many spring student-athletes, their season came to a premature close in early March 2020. The affected teams included lacrosse, riding, rowing, tennis and track and field. While there were hopes of competitions resuming this school year, they were once again canceled at the beginning of the year. Current track and field juniors reflected on what they have learned over the course of the last year being unable to compete.
Pictured above: the Mount Holyoke Basketball team ‘19-’20. Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke College Athletics Department.
By Casey Roepke ’21
News Editor
The New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Presidents Council recently released their decision regarding winter sport competition for the 2020-2021 season. The decision to suspend championships and all conference play was made in a unanimous vote by the presidents of all 11 NEWMAC colleges, including Mount Holyoke and fellow Seven Sisters schools Smith and Wellesley.
According to the NEWMAC Presidents Council’s statement on winter sports, this decision was a direct result of COVID-19-related scheduling and travel restrictions.
“Due to the shift in academic calendars, specifically the later start than normal of the second term and the majority of institutions imposing restrictions of both visitors on campus and travel off campus in an effort to reduce the potential spread and exposure of COVID-19, the Presidents have unanimously decided to suspend conference play and championships for winter sports,” the statement read.
Mount Holyoke student-athletes were alerted of the decision by an email from Director of Athletics Lori Hendricks ’92. According to Hendricks, the decision to lose another competitive season was “not unexpected, but still a disappointment.”
This decision directly impacts Mount Holyoke’s basketball and swimming and diving teams. Mount Holyoke Swimming and Diving Head Coach Dave Allen said that the decision matched his expectations.
“The swimming and diving coaches forwarded a proposal to move the [championship] meet to the end of March or April in the hopes of rescheduling the meet,” Allen said. “Unfortunately, there are so many factors and unknowns with COVID[-19], as well as the logistics to scheduling our meet, [that] it would be a real challenge to reschedule the meet.”
“I definitely had been anticipating that for a while,” Swimming and Diving co-Captain Naomi Brown ’21 said. “Especially with cases rising around the country it just doesn’t seem to be realistic to have sports competitions right now.”
She added that Allen had been preparing the team for the possibility of the suspension of the winter season. “The team was definitely bummed about the news, but Dave has been preparing us for all of the possibilities for a while,” Brown said. “So it wasn’t necessarily a shock.”
“I personally expected this,” Riley Hicks ’21, another one of the swimming and diving team’s co-captains, said. “Many of my teammates even assumed it was canceled before it was actually announced. Obviously, we are all very upset about this, but I had the mindset it would be canceled for the last few months so it is not shocking news.”
Winter sports like swimming and diving rely on the extended fall and winter seasons to train in anticipation of NEWMAC championships, so Brown had come to terms with a disrupted senior season. “We already knew the season would be kind of wacky with not being able to be on campus,” she said. “I definitely miss being around my teammates, but I’m thankful for the time we spend together remotely on Zoom, and we’ve been using this time to grow as a team.”
“We all wish we could be on campus in person, but are trying to make the best of this situation,” Hicks said. “This fall has been very difficult with a lot of new adjustments, but my team and I are hoping to be back in the spring and…able to practice and maybe have some virtual meets.”
“The team is disappointed and at the same time understands the decision,” Allen said. “At this point, we are hoping to be together on the pool deck in the spring. Practicing in person as a team will be a moral[e] boost compared to our current virtual practices.”
While specific teams within the College have independent freedom to hold practices and outside competitions in accordance with NCAA regulations for Division III teams and Mount Holyoke’s own health and safety measures, this decision coincides with the College’s remote fall term, which likely means winter sports will not have any in-person components.
“The cancellation of athletics in the spring all together might make me not want to return at all if that is an option,” Hicks said. “I have talked to many other teammates and other athletes and many have also said that athletics is a major factor in them returning this spring.”
The College will release further information about the spring 2021 term for student-athletes. The NEWMAC Presidents Council has not yet released their decision regarding spring competition.
By Gigi Picard ’22
Sports Editor
Despite a national trend of cutting athletic programs due to COVID-19, Mount Holyoke College Athletics has not eliminated any varsity or club sports teams. During the spring 2019 semester, seasons were cut short and the final game played by student-athletes was a lacrosse scrimmage between Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges, which occurred just before both colleges closed for the academic year.
In late August, athletes and coaches were reunited over Zoom for their traditional student-athlete barbecue. Led by Director of Athletics Lori Hendricks, the virtual Zoom event tried to bring back the lively spirit felt at barbecues from years past. One effort to bring the athletic community together was the unforgettable “Y-O-K-E” cheer.
For Mount Holyoke Athletics, there are no in-person practices or competitions this semester. The College’s athletic programs this year will focus more on holistic community building rather than only the physical aspects of sports.
Hendricks worked on the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) COVID-19 working group this summer, alongside several colleagues, directors of athletics, team physicians and athletic trainers. The purpose of the group was to develop plans and protocols for fall practices and competitions. Decisions were made at the conference level to host conference-only contests in the fall. Winter sport contests would be delayed until January.
For Hendricks, the future of the Mount Holyoke athletics department was a main consideration while working with the group.
Hendricks explained that the department’s priorities and strategic plan lie with “competitive success, recruitment and retention, diversity and inclusion, student well-being, community integration and physical education.” Hendricks highlighted the importance of student-athlete safety during this time, as well as trying to find ways for fall sports to potentially compete in the spring.
According to Hendricks, the current plan is to work with the NEWMAC conference — Mount Holyoke’s athletic conference — and the NCAA. “We are working with the NEWMAC and the NCAA to prepare a proposed competitive schedule for our fall, winter and spring teams in the spring semester. For squash and equestrian, who have different governing organizations, we are looking to their national leadership to provide guidance on spring schedules.”
According to Associate Director of Athletics Erica Lemm, the Student Athletic Advisory Committee met during the summer to talk about the challenges presented by COVID-19 and other questions raised by the Black Lives Matter movement.
“SAAC just added a Diversity and Inclusion subcommittee as well as [a] Diversity and Inclusion representative to [the] E-Board,” Lemm said. “Most importantly, they're laying the groundwork for important diversity, equity, and inclusion conversations to continue by creating a book club and discussing how best to have team dialogues,” she added.
Mount Holyoke Athletics has plans to address NCAA legislation, host a virtual version of the annual toy drive and continue to engage with Girl Inc., with whom they formed a partnership last year. The department also plans to recognize “teams of the week,” replacing last year’s regular “game of the week.”
“Soon I'll be releasing programming for mental wellness, diversity and inclusion and leadership in conjunction with the NEWMAC,” Lemm said. “Additionally, we're continuing with the Student-Athlete Leadership Team and our newest group, the First-Generation and Ethnic Minority Student-Athlete Group.”
The future continues to remain uncertain for spring sports. Any further updates will be provided by the Mount Holyoke athletics department and the Mount Holyoke News.
