Home away from home

Canadian athletics team camps in Gifu ahead of the Olympic track meet

The road to Tokyo has been longer and more winding than any other Olympic cycle. A year-long delay caused by an international health crisis was one variable no one could plan for.

But with the first events of the Tokyo Olympic Games underway, and the Opening Ceremony in the books, that long road for members of Canada’s athletics team has come to its last stop before the final destination: competition day.

Members of the team have arrived at the Japanese city of Gifu for the pre-Olympic camp. Situated almost 400 kilometres from the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium that will be the base of operations for athletes, coaches and support personnel.

We caught up with three members of the Canadian squad, to talk about Canada’s home away from home, including:

  • Khamica Bingham, who will be competing in the women’s 100 metres
  • Kurt Downes, a coach from Windsor, Ont.
  • Colin Whitmee, Athletics Canada’s High Performance Operations Senior Manager

How was your travel experience to Japan, and Athletics Canada’s camp in Gifu? 

Bingham: The travel experience was a record-breaking 36 hours for the longest and most exhausting travel of my career. The travel to Tokyo was about 18 hours and we spent nine hours in the airport for processing and a seven-hour bus ride to Gifu. However, while in Vancouver, we were celebrated by the Air Canada staff members who offered us complimentary access to the lounge and spoiled us with bag of goodies, food, media and free Wi-Fi on the plane.

Downes: My travel experience to Japan – which was also my very first trip to Japan – was an interesting one to say the least. It started off pretty easy from a travel perspective. After leaving Toronto we went to British Columbia and from B.C. we flew to Tokyo. After landing in Tokyo around 2:15 p.m. local time is where things got a bit interesting. We had a series of stops in the airport, every few hours. It was like a slow drip situation. Get up, then sit down. Next, we would get positioned in another section of the airport. We underwent COVID testing and then were sent to multiple different holding areas. The whole process lasted about eight and a half hours inside the airport. Then we set off on a six-hour bus ride to Gifu. Easily one of the longest travel days I’ve ever been involved with, but what made it tolerable were the Japanese people. They were incredibly welcoming, helpful and kind. They were smiling and waving through out the entire process.

What has impressed you the most about the camp in Gifu?  

Downes: The beautiful scenery, backdrops filled with lush mountain tops. The amazing facility here at Gifu has been thoughtfully located and planned for our group and fits all of the training groups’ needs. I think in Canada it would great if we could have more access to facilities like this from a high performance sport point of view.

Whitmee: The people of Gifu have bent over backwards to support us in putting on this camp. The logistics behind managing all of the COVID protocols is massive, but Gifu has done a tremendous job in supporting us. The facilities are world-class – and the views from our hotel and the stadium are spectacular.

Bingham: What has impressed me most about the camp in Gifu, is the COVID protocol that has been set in place to protect us athletes, staff and local Japanese residents. We are literally in our own bubble within the hotel. The Gifu residents have been so welcoming to us, and even though we can’t go outside to enjoy the scenery besides when we train at the track, the views from our windows are breathtaking.

Why is this kind of pre-camp so important?  

Bingham: I believe this pre-camp is important because it allows us to get acclimated while in isolation, in order to focus on the last phase of training leading up to competition. This eliminates all distractions that may often come from the Olympic Village. We are allowed to go to the Village four days prior to our first competition day, which gives us the opportunity to get accustomed to the Village, but the pre-camp isolation takes us away from the noise in and outside of the Village and makes us feel safer in regard to reducing COVID risks, as more countries and athletes arrive in Tokyo daily.

Whitmee: Getting acclimatized to both the time zone and the heat are critical for athlete performance. Knowing what we now know about the length of travel, having our team here in Japan with ample time to recover and acclimatize, hopefully, gives us a leg up on the competition coming in just days before they compete. 

Downes: I think that it’s vital to the success of our athletes for a number of reasons. We are creating a training environment, both from high performance and from an access-to-equipment standpoint. It gives us a chance to fine-tune skills and take advantage of team resources like therapy, nutrition and mental performance. It improves team cohesion and team-building opportunities. Our athletes train at multiple locations in Canada and the United States, so COVID-19 has made it difficult to see each other and maintain those face-to-face bonds, relationships and connections. Track and field is an individual sport, but championship opportunities provide a unique chance to put everyone together and to foster a sense of patriotism. Lastly, having a camp like this allows the athletes, coaches and support staff the chance to renew those bonds and supplement them moving towards the podium goals at the Games.

What is one thing you absolutely had to bring from home?  

Downes: I can’t think of one thing, but I know I need to have a few books, my notebook and my headphones.

Whitmee: I’ve been to enough Games now to know that it’s less about the physical “things” you bring to Games, and more about coming in with a patient and adaptable mindset to react to whatever’s thrown at us. 

Bingham: One thing I had to bring from home was my journal that is dedicated to my mom. I am a writer. I write down my goals, dreams, feelings, fears and failures. Since the passing of my mom four months ago, I was gifted a journal with an image of my mom and I on the cover. It was so special and I use that journal as a way to talk to her in the form of letters. I reflect and write to her just as I would on a regular basis if she were to still be here.

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