While the rest of the world was desperately trying to get their head around coronavirus, cyclist Kaarle McCulloch could be forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The three-time world champion and bronze medal-winning Olympian was carrying a back injury with Tokyo 2020 on the horizon and while she would have soldiered on, it wasn't gong to be easy.
But in an instant everything changed and with months of rehabilitation under her belt she is now looking ahead to the postponed Games with reinvigorated determination.
"The postponement of the Olympics was a blessing in disguise because I was able to rehabilitate my back properly," McCulloch told the Southern Highland News.
"I wouldn't have been afforded that opportunity had the Olympics gone ahead and I'm now finally finding some form again after rehabilitating that injury properly.
"I still would have been competitive but I just think I needed some rest and to give my body and back a chance to recover from the injury.
"It's been challenging because the rehab was a good six months of doing some really tedious and basic work but I don't think I would be in a position to be competitive if I didn't have that opportunity so [I'm] grateful for the postponement in a way."
Read also: Blacks to play Super Rugby curtain-raiser
McCulloch, who spent a large part of her childhood in the Southern Highlands, will mainly focus on the Keirin event after her team sprint partner Stephanie Morton retired as a result of Covid. The pair had won the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships and silver last year.
"The Keirin isn't a race against the clock like the team sprint," McCulloch explained.
"It's a little bit more unpredictable but I think my experience of 15 years at the highest level gives me an advantage over a lot of my competitors. I just need to hope that I have the form on the day to give me the speed to match my experience. I feel like I'm going to be competitive for medals out there."
The 33-year old first appeared at the Olympics in 2012, winning bronze alongside Anna Meares but was in the stands in 2016 after being named as a reserve.
While tough to take at the time, McCulloch said it had provided extra incentive to be on the bike in Japan.
"I had great success in London at my first Olympics and it was obviously quite disappointing for me to be the reserve in Rio," she said.
"I still felt and believed that I was competitive enough to win medals. We actually have this saying that the hardest part of the Olympics is actually getting there.
"In Rio we had three girls who could win medals and they were better than me on the selection day and that's sport sometimes. I had to sit in the stands and cheer them on and support them while also knowing that I was good enough to be out there.
"That was definitely a big motivator for me going into Tokyo, making sure I wasn't sitting on the sidelines. I went into this Olympic cycle with a motto of 'give the selectors every reason to select me' and I definitely achieved that.
"I definitely earned my way onto this team."
Did you know the Southern Highland News is now offering breaking news alerts and a weekly email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up below.
