{"id":424182,"date":"2020-03-24T02:57:31","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T09:57:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=424182"},"modified":"2024-10-28T12:02:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T19:02:00","slug":"jacob-heidtmann-coronavirus-a-chance-to-reassess-find-perspective-embrace-solidarity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/jacob-heidtmann-coronavirus-a-chance-to-reassess-find-perspective-embrace-solidarity\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacob Heidtmann: Coronavirus A Chance To Reassess, Find Perspective, Embrace Solidarity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sabrina Knoll<\/strong>, Swimming World’s Germany correspondent,<\/em>\u00a0called Jacob Heidtmann<\/em> <\/strong>at his base in San Diego with Coach David Marsh<\/strong>. It was 9.30am for the medley ace and normally he’d be in the pool working hard at that time of day. Not in coronavirus<\/strong> season.<\/p>\n

A member of the German Olympic team in Rio 2016, Heidtmann has qualified for Tokyo 2020 on the clock, confirmation of selection cancelled along with Germany’s Olympic swim trials due to the COVID-19 pandemic<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The conversation, which took place before Australia<\/a> and Canada<\/a> set dominoes falling on the way to a likely postponement of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games<\/strong>, ended with this:<\/p>\n

So you could live with a cancellation of Tokyo 2020, then?<\/em><\/p>\n

“Of course I would love to experience the Games again. But I would also like to experience society coping well with the current situation, in solidarity. The situation may even be good for society as a whole: that we live in solidarity, spend more time with the family, look more at our consumer habits, reflect on the positive in the negative, on the essentials. But let me put it this way: I would have to live with the cancellation. I am aware that I speak from a privileged position. I have a high school diploma, I have a place to study, I’m not falling into a huge hole. But the emotional damage to an athlete is enormous if the Olympics simply disappear.”<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When Sabrina\u00a0asks Jacob ‘<\/b>Another point of criticism is that the Games could not run fairly anyway due to the lack of training and missing or postponed qualifications …’, he responds:<\/em><\/p>\n

“<\/span><\/span>Fair, the Games? It almost becomes philosophical. No, seriously, these are the questions we’re really dealing with here: how fair are the Games anyway; how many 50-metre pools are there in Africa; how many droughts are there in the world while we work here in our heated pool for four years? That’s also worth thinking about.”<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Interview Across The Pond<\/h2>\n

Ring Ring …\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

SK: <\/strong>Herr Heidtmann, it is 9:30 am in San Diego, where would you normally be now?<\/em><\/p>\n

JH:<\/span> I would be in the pool. Today is Friday, so it would have been a relatively crisp session. It’s always the key unit of the week when we really step on the gas. But now I’m sitting on my balcony.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

SK: <\/strong>A curfew has been in effect in California since today.<\/em><\/p>\n

JH:<\/span> Yes. However, I can’t yet say exactly how this will work. We’d normally be here in our shared apartment between\u00a0practice<\/span>\u00a0session, so it’s not such an exceptional situation for us. It is also not the case that soldiers are running around here now: I was asked that.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

SK:<\/strong> How does that affect your daily training routine?<\/em><\/p>\n

JH:<\/span> We initially received a special permit for the pool. But now we have to look for alternatives.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

SK:<\/strong> That would be?<\/em><\/p>\n

JH:<\/span> We have a 15-metre pool in our apartment complex, so maybe we could swim a bit in there. And we have the ocean around the corner. It certainly helps that there are three of us here. We can push each other on.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

SK: Sounds almost heavenly.<\/em><\/p>\n

JH:<\/span><\/strong> Maybe not, but I have to say that the mood is a little too negative for me at the moment. When I read about the call to cancel the Games, or when I see on social media that swimmers complain about being unable to go into the water for a few days, I think to myself: it is much more important, as things stand, to look ahead and spread positive energy.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

SK:<\/strong><\/span> But it must be difficult if you can’t swim, especially as a swimmer.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"jacob-heidtmann-2019-world-championships\"

Jacob Heidtmann – Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant<\/p><\/div>\n

JH:<\/span> Absolutely. \u00a0That probably hits us hardest of all athletes. The situation is totally bizarre: we usually spend our everyday life in a rather sterile environment. We are at home or in the pool, where the chlorine actually strips everything away, and we’re also surrounded by young, fit people before we return to our apartment. So we don’t hang around much in ‘normal life’. The situation on the street is already getting dangerous for people.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

SK:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>From a purely training science perspective: How long can a lockdown last?<\/em><\/p>\n

JH:<\/span> Since you are not sick or injured, you can easily compensate for two weeks. I can keep fit, eat healthy and would therefore not start again from scratch.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n