The Olympic qualification door has re-opened for Tonya Nero.

Nero established a new national record at the California International Marathon, in the United States, last December, completing the 26.2-mile course in two hours, 42 minutes, 58 seconds for a 16-second improvement on the 2:43:14 standard she had set back in 2012. The record run, however, was more than 13 minutes outside the tough 2:29:30 Olympic qualifying time.

“After the marathon in December,” Nero told the Express, “I decided that I would not do another marathon. Since I had to achieve the qualifying standard by May, I thought that that time frame was too short, and I was not prepared to do so.”

Postponement of the Tokyo Games to July/August, next year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic handed Nero an unexpected Olympic lifeline. On April 7, World Athletics announced that the Olympic qualification period had been suspended and will resume on December 1. Nero will have until May 31, 2021 to earn a spot in the Olympic Games women’s marathon.

“If I get to try another marathon, I will.”

On one hand, COVID-19 has created an Olympic opportunity for Nero. On the other, however, the global pandemic has proven to be a spoiler.

“Before the announcement of the postponement, training was going great. After recovering from the California International Marathon, I had hopes of representing Team Trinidad and Tobago at the World Half Marathon Championships that was to be held on March 29.”

The Championships will still be staged in 2020, and Gdynia, in Poland, remains the host city. The date, though, has been pushed back to October 17. Nero’s preparations continue.

“Hopefully, I am still able to compete some time before the year is over. There are so many unknowns, so I’m just going with the flow of things for now. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m taking each day one at a time and praying for the best.

“I have not shut down training completely,” the US-based distance runner continued. “I decided to do my best to maintain my fitness. The good thing about distance running is that staying fit can keep the athlete going. On the other hand, it might be harder for those athletes who do sports that require a certain building or equipment, or even contact sports.”

Nero is in favour of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision to postpone the Olympic Games.

“With the current situation the world is in, I prefer that the Olympics be held in 2021. I understand that the athletes put in a lot of hard work and preparation for 2020, but I know many of them, including myself, prefer to stay safe and help prevent the spread of the virus.”