For the first time since the announcement that the Tokyo Olympics were being postponed a year, swimming star Daiya Seto took to social media to bluntly describe the void he feels over the decision.
"When the postponement was decided, I felt a sense of loss," Seto wrote on his Twitter account Friday. "It was like all that was left of me was a shell. I can't say [my reaction] was that I was going to quickly flip the switch and start looking ahead to next year. Even now, I still haven't gotten back into the right mindset."
Seto is the lone Japanese swimmer to have clinched a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which he earned by winning both the men's 200- and 400-meter individual medley races at last year's world championships.
Entering this year, he remained a high level, coming within .04 seconds of the Japan record in the 400 medley, while also breaking the national record in the 200 butterfly.
As a solid gold-medal favorite, Seto was primed to make the most of his Olympic chances, which come only once every four years.
"Given how hard I had worked in training and preparing myself, I couldn't say anything positive [up to now]," Seto wrote on his first posting in nearly two months.
According to a source, Seto has temporarily stopped training in order to reset himself mentally. After winning a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, he remained forward-thinking, saying, "It's through this disappointment that I will aim for a gold medal the next time." Such an attitude is one of his biggest assets.
Seto closed his message with a hint of optimism.
"To me, the Olympics is a dream stage that nothing can ever replace. I will start again to gradually build up a strong determination to definitely win a gold medal next year, and the every year after that!"
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
