OHIO, USA — In just over a month, the world will gather in front of TVs to watch the best athletes from 196 countries compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Track and Field long jumper and Olympic hopeful Corey Crawford, son of 3News Anchor Jay Crawford, says all of the athletes feel the excitement and energy since it’s an event five years in the making.
“It's 2021, it's definitely going down! So, it’s definitely been a weird ride, but it’s definitely been different in a sense,” says Corey.
The Olympics were canceled in 2020 after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic may still not be fully under control, the International Olympic Committee has deemed it safe enough to move forward with the games in Japan this summer.
The passion from the athletes in various sports is growing more intense by the day, and so is the effort.
“I’ve been nervous for every meet this year just cause I’ve put so much training into this year. I’ve worked harder than I’ve ever worked,” Corey told 3News' Romney Smith.
Columbus native and Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles is getting hype, but despite creating moves literally being named after her, she says right now her goal is to stay laser-focused.
“Sometimes going into it I'm like, 'don't bail, you'll literally die, like you will break something,'” says Biles laughing.
Whether a shoo-in like Biles or one of the many athletes currently competing for a spot on Team USA, we’re all ready for the delayed Olympics to kick off soon.
Editor's note: The video in the player above is from a story published on April 14, 2021.