CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It's official, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games have officially been postponed as the coronavirus continues to have worldwide impacts. The International Olympic Committee says the Olympics and the Paralympics will go on "no later than summer 2021."
That's completely changing plans for athletes who have been training for months and even years with their sights set on 2020.
It's a historic decision -- the Olympics have never been delayed more than a day or two. Now, Charlotte-area athletes who were heading to Tokyo are adjusting, those plans pushed off an entire year.
“It's one of the best feelings in the world,” Carson Sanocki says about representing the United States of America.
Competing at an elite level is an American dream Sanocki was making a reality.
“Tokyo has kind of been the end goal, on my radar, so I’ve been building up to that,” Sanocki said.
The Charlotte native has been swimming most of his life and up until last week, he was training to represent our country in the Paralympics.
The IOC announced the Olympics and Paralympics will be pushed back an entire year because of COVID-19. The unprecedented decision making waves around the world, thousands of athletes putting their dreams on hold for the time being.
Sanocki thinks it was the right decision -- especially after Canada and Australia said they would not send their teams and many athletes have been unable to train during the outbreak.
Instead of getting upset, Sanocki is looking at the delay as an opportunity to get better and stronger.
“I’ll only be faster a year from now than I am now," he said. "I’m trying to stay positive and look at it that way. I can’t really control what's going on so I just have to control what I can control and continue to train and be the best swimmer I can be."
Sanocki went to Providence High School and swims for Queens University.
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