医者になるか現役続行か？　五輪延期で人生の選択迫られる英ボート選手

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】ボート女子の英国代表として五輪出場経験のある31歳のポリー・スワンは、ほんの数日前まで東京五輪を見据えていた。しかし、現在は新型コロナウイルスとの闘いを手助けするために、予定より早く医者としてキャリアを開始することを検討している。（写真はポルトガルでの合宿でポーズをとるボート女子英代表のポリー・スワン）
　２０１６年リオデジャネイロ五輪の女子エイトで銀メダルを獲得したスワンは、医療施設で新たな人生を始める前に、日本でもう一つ上のメダルを目指していた。先日、東京五輪の延期が決まった際には、数週間続いた不明瞭な状況が少なくとも明確になったと話した。
　英エディンバラ大学で医学を学んだスワンは、日本で競技を終えてから医者としての研修を開始する予定だったが、新型コロナウイルス感染症（ＣＯＶＩＤ-１９）が猛威を振るう中で、スコットランドの保健機関が数週間のうちにスタッフを補充する可能性があるという話を耳にした。
　東京五輪では女子かじなしフォアで優勝も狙えるポジションにいたスワンは、「難しい選択を迫られると思う」とすると、「五輪は自分の夢であり、とても個人的なこと。出場して金メダルを取りたいけれど、世界中が直面している困難な状況は、スポーツよりもはるかに大きなこと」と語った。
　「医学に強い情熱があるから、英国民保健サービス（ＮＨＳ）の歯車として従事することには、かなりの熱意を感じている」
　欧州ボート選手権を制した実績を持つスワンは、東京五輪の延期に悔しさをにじませながらも、選手が調子をピークに持っていく時間が増えたとも話した。また、ＮＨＳは五輪を目指している医師に協力的であることから、夢をまだ諦めていないと明かしたが、「これから難しくなる。自分には完璧なプランがあったのに」と認めた。
　一方、ケンブリッジ大学の医学生で女子軽量級ダブルスカルのイモージェン・グラントも、計画に折り合いをつけなければならない状況になっているが、今のところ来年の東京五輪にしっかりと照準を定めている。
　東京五輪を終えた後、２年間の休学を経て医学の勉強を再スタートさせる予定だったグラントは、延期が決まっても五輪への熱意が薄れることはなかったという。「数時間くらいはやり切れなくなったけれど、最終的に自分が英代表チームに入りたかった理由は、五輪に出場してメダルを取ることだった」「その夢は変わっていない」
　グラントは混乱の中でも前向きな姿勢を維持しており、「この前のトレーニング合宿が終わった後、コーチが『かなり良い調子だけれど、もう一年あればいいのに』と話していたら、突然そういう状況になった」とし、「この機会を最大限に生かしたい」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/04/02-13:18）

British Olympic rower Polly Swann was counting down to Tokyo 2020 just days ago. Now she is considering starting her medical career early to help in the battle against the coronavirus.
The 31-year-old, who won a silver medal as part of the women's eight at the 2016 Games in Rio, was looking to go one better in Japan before beginning her new life on the hospital wards.
Swann said this week's decision to postpone the Olympics at least gives athletes clarity after weeks of uncertainty.
The former Edinburgh University student was gearing up to start her foundation programme as a doctor after competing in Japan but she said there were rumours that health chiefs in Scotland could be looking for reinforcements in the next few weeks as COVID-19 takes hold.
I think I need to make some hard choices, said Swann, who was in a good position to win a place in the women's four.
The Olympics are my dream and something very personal to me. I want to go and win an Olympic gold medal but also the pressure we're under globally is much bigger than just sport.
Obviously medicine is a huge passion to me so I feel passionate about having a duty, being a tiny cog in the NHS machine.
The former world and European champion described the postponement of the Games as frustrating but said it meant athletes now had an extra year to prepare to hit their peak.
And she has not given up on her dream, saying the National Health Service is generally supportive of doctors who want to compete at the Olympics.
But she admitted: It will be tough. I had the perfect solution.
- Olympic dream -
Medical student Imogen Grant, a lightweight sculler, is also coming to terms with having to rejig her plans but remains firmly focused on Tokyo next year.
The Cambridge University student, who was due to restart her medical studies shortly after the end of the Olympics after a two-year hiatus, said the change of dates had not dimmed her desire.
I had a few hours where I threw the toys out of the pram but ultimately the reason I wanted to be on the GB team was I wanted to go to the Olympics and win a medal, she said. That dream hasn't changed.
Grant, 24, is relatively new to the sport. She fell into rowing at the start of her university career at Cambridge, attracted by the lure of free drinks as a reward for signing up to a club taster session.
She is hoping she can negotiate another year off before she dives back into her medical degree.
Swann and Grant are both training at home now after the closure of the British rowing team's Caversham training base near London on Saturday as a result of the coronavirus.
Swann is back in Edinburgh while Grant is at home in London after a mad scramble to borrow equipment from the team base.
The rowers are still being put through their paces remotely by their coaches, who are working with SAS, the official analytics partner of British Rowing, to analyse the data.
- GB powerhouse -
The new reality of training in isolation as a result of the coronavirus is a far cry from last month's winter training session in Portugal, where both rowers were put through their paces along with the rest of the women's crew.
Britain has ruled the waves at Olympic rowing events since Beijing 2008 and anticipation was bubbling in the rural setting of Avis, with the athletes pushing their limits in the gym and spending hours on the water.
Swann was firmly established again after stepping away from the sport for a time. She returned to the GB squad last year following the completion of her medical degree.
I couldn't stop thinking about rowing, she told AFP in Portugal, referring to her time away. I just started training to see if I still had the drive.
We obviously did a really fantastic thing in Rio. But I knew that I as an individual could have been better just with injuries and the way that my body was holding up.
Grant is staying positive despite the disruption.
After our recent training camp our coach said to us 'we're in a really good place but I wish we had another year' and now suddenly we're in that position, she said.
I want to grasp that opportunity as best I can.