The two-time 100m champion plays down concerns Paralympic athletes could be at greater risk of contracting virus than Olympic counterparts
Paralympic champion Jonnie Peacock said he feels “safer in Tokyo” than in the United Kingdom in spite of the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in Japan’s capital ahead of the start of the Games on Aug 24.
The two-time 100m amputee sprint gold medallist has played down concerns that Paralympic athletes could be at greater risk of contracting the virus than their Olympic counterparts.
“With the Covid situation, for me there was slight worry that in the village it could become like ground zero,” explained Peacock. “But I actually feel safer in Tokyo than I do in this country. All this talk about how bad it was there, look at the percentage of the population that’s contracted it versus ours. I think we’re ten times worse.”
Nonetheless, the Covid pandemic spread remains a concern, with Olympic organisers having managed to avoid a mass outbreak in the athletes village, with only 31 positive tests from a population of nearly 15,000 athletes and officials inside the Olympic village.
However, the Covid situation has worsened significantly in Japan in recent days, prompting Paralympic officials to make the tough decision not to allow athletes to attend the opening ceremony or have dining hall access. Japan recorded 15,753 cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, the fourth straight day of record infections. The number is roughly three times the peak of previous waves.
But Peacock responded: “I’ll be breathing in all the air in Tokyo because it’s way safer than in this country. I’m actually happy to get out to Tokyo.”
The inspiration of 28-year-old Peacock’s rise and success at back-to-back Paralympic Games with 100m gold medals as a teenager in London and then on to Rio has been bottled for a two-part documentary on Channel 4, part one of which airs tonight as the track athlete takes five young amputees on a year-long journey through the technicalities and mentality needed to run with blades.
Peacock explained that his mission to mentor the young amputees to help realise their sporting potential over the course of a year-long training camp is having a visible improvement mentally just as much as it is on their performance aspirations.
“For all the kids this is a life changing experience as they go on their own journeys, but for a few it has also enabled them to embrace being an amputee by showing their prosthetics to the world,” he said. “Five kids got blades – because the NHS had a bursary for free blades after Rio – and the biggest takeaway from ‘Blade Camp’ was not just the journey they went on physically, but the mental resilience they developed.
“They all improved physically without a doubt, every single one of them, but to gain the confidence they have found at the age 13 or 14 was very poignant at a formative time in their lives, in terms of acceptance of who they are. It was quite an emotional watch. You feel for these kids, and to see the lifestyle impact and changes in them was very cool.
“I would never have been able to do that when I was that age. All I wanted to do was hide away. Seeing themselves represented doing something they thought might not be possible – and witnessing the upcoming Games – will help them to see the level of impact the Paralympics can have on the world.”
Peacock also believes the 220-strong GB team heading to Tokyo will be inspired by the nation’s Olympic success over the course of the last three weeks. “I think we always are. That’s the great thing about the Paralympics. We get to sit here and soak it up. No matter what your motivation is, after watching a couple weeks of the Games it always goes up tenfold.
“For me the only thing I can say for the British public is they can definitely watch the athletics because we’ll definitely win a lot more gold medals. Nonetheless it’s been brilliant to watch them do their thing.
“That track is lightning fast and the heat is doing wonders. It’s great to see everyone and the excitement always builds but we get a look at the facilities and they look on point. It’s really quite exciting.”