By Neto Baptiste
National sprinter Cejhae Greene said the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on his ability to make a living as a professional athlete.
In an exclusive interview with Observer media, Greene said that the absence of meets and not being able to travel has severely depleted his income and has left him, more often than not, surviving on “bare minimum”.
“We have been taking a big hit, not being able to travel and get work done. A lot of us depend on competition to get our day-to-day bread, so right now we have been surviving on the bare minimum and some months even below the bare minimum, so it’s rough. We have been trying to do our best to hang in there and get stuff done, but it has definitely been taking a toll, especially in a sport where, for me, competition is where most of my money comes from. So it’s been hard but we have been trying to take staying there as much as we can,” he said.
In recent weeks, Greene, who is currently based in the USA, has seen his ability to move around further reduced due to ongoing protest in several states over the recent death of African American, George Floyd, in police custody.
The Antiguan athlete said he is however trying to make the best of a bad situation by getting out and training whenever he can.
“For the most part, we’re here trying to work with what we are given and trying to get as much work as we can done. There is still a little bit of a struggle getting into the weight room in terms of trying to get the work done. We are not allowed to travel for the most part since most borders are not open and are not letting people in,” Greene said.
Restrictions are being lifted in phases on gyms and other sporting facilities across the globe as countries seek to re-emerge from the ongoing pandemic.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), in March, announced that the 2020 Summer Olympics slated for Tokyo, Japan had been postponed until 2021.