{"id":22104,"date":"2020-03-27T12:11:28","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T12:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/?p=22104"},"modified":"2020-03-27T16:12:23","modified_gmt":"2020-03-27T16:12:23","slug":"canadian-olympian-celina-toth-tokyo-2021-not-easy-decision-every-athlete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/canadian-olympian-celina-toth-tokyo-2021-not-easy-decision-every-athlete\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian diver Celina Toth: Tokyo 2021 is not an easy decision for every athlete"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Celina
Celina Toth. Photo: Thomas Cumberbatch\/Godspeed Communications.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the International Olympic Committee announced it was postponing the Tokyo Games until 2021, a lot of athletes breathed a sigh of relief.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With little doubt the right decision had been made in light of the global Covid-19 pandemic, it seemed the obvious choice for Olympians would be to now plan their training for 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, that decision is not as clear cut for some.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One athlete still unsure of what her next move will be, is 28-year-old Canadian diver Celina Toth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Toth has been competing since she was 12-years-old, and has been on the national team since 2008, a long career which included competing on the world stage on several occasions.<\/span><\/p>\n

After Tokyo, she was ready to move on.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Toth says her body could handle another year of training, she fears her mental health may not be able to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>It’s been a really emotional couple of years and my mental health is decreasing,\u201d said Toth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI need to think, do I want to put myself through one another year that is probably going to be harder than this past year?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Toth
Toth has been diving for Canada since 2008. Photo provided by Celina Toth.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Toth, another year would involve training twice a day; fitting in dry-land, pool and weight sessions; trying to hit the diving standards in order to receive funding from Sport Canada; while also balancing a part-time job with Lululemon in order to pay rent.<\/span><\/p>\n

And while her team and people around her think it\u2019s an easy decision, she is not so sure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo them it’s just a no brainer. It’s the Olympics and this is what we trained for, of course everyone has to do it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut for me, I feel like the longer I do this, the more I do this, it’s more just mentally taxing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn’t be able to do this without my parents’ help and that’s another thing, we had this plan set out for 2020\u2014no more financial help from my family.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI’m going to get a job or go to school and start my master’s degree and just move on. And now I have to put them through another year of support […] so it’s like another financial burden, which is also just another stress on top of my every day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of these issues are complex and are all too prevalent in Olympic sports.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Toth's
Toth’s mental health is a deciding factor on Tokyo 2021. Photo provided by Celina Toth.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The dedication that athletes put in to qualify and compete in an Olympic Games is a full-time job, notwithstanding the other elements of life that they have to balance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Toth is now faced with deciding to move on to the next stage of her life or to put that on hold to continue to train for 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

The last three months, even before the coronavirus pandemic, were the hardest in any of Toth\u2019s diving seasons as she battled injury and tried to maintain her mental health.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And after each season ends, Toth said she experiences a moment in time where she doesn\u2019t want to go back to the pool again and after Tokyo, she was ready to not have that feeling anymore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI still love competing, that I don’t want to give up. But there are just so many other things that I don’t love anymore, that I don’t know if I want to do that again and put myself through it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While Toth has not made any decisions on her career yet, she is considering other opportunities that she would like to pursue if she does not compete in 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are many mixed feelings for the 28-year-old as she goes back and forth on what her next move will be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But as hard as everything has been on her, the Canadian emphasized\u00a0 it has all been worth it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn’t be where, I am or have the opportunities that I have in the future, and that I have had, if I didn’t have this team around me in the sport.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo I’m excited about my future because of what diving and focusing on the Olympics has been.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEither way, I’ll make the right decision, but I still don’t know what that decision will be yet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the International Olympic Committee announced it was postponing the Tokyo Games until 2021, a lot of athletes breathed a sigh of relief.\u00a0 With little doubt the right decision had been made in light of the global Covid-19 pandemic, it seemed the obvious choice for Olympians would be to now plan their training for 2021. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":22120,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[2003],"tags":[2710,896,2705,2709,1226,2707,664,2708,992,2706],"ppma_author":[4029],"yoast_head":"\nCanadian diver Celina Toth: Tokyo 2021 is not an easy decision for every athlete - Sports Gazette<\/title>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsgazette.co.uk\/canadian-olympian-celina-toth-tokyo-2021-not-easy-decision-every-athlete\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Canadian diver Celina Toth: Tokyo 2021 is not an easy decision for every athlete - Sports Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When the International Olympic Committee announced it was postponing the Tokyo Games until 2021, a lot of athletes breathed a sigh of relief.\u00a0 With little doubt the right decision had been made in light of the global Covid-19 pandemic, it seemed the obvious choice for Olympians would be to now plan their training for 2021. 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