Plans for the Olympic wrestling trials at Penn State are moving ‘full steam ahead’ amid coronavirus concerns
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Update: USA Wrestling released a statement Friday afternoon saying that the Last Chance Olympic Team Trials Qualifier set for March 27-28 in Millersville and the U.S. Olympic Team Trials set for April 4-5 at University Park will both be postponed.
In the midst of the global coronavirus outbreak, there are no plans as of Tuesday evening to cancel or postpone the U.S. Olympic Trials at the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State’s campus April 4-5, USA Wrestling’s communications director Gary Abbott said.
However, the situation is being monitored by several advisory committees on a daily basis, and plans are subject to change as more information becomes available and as the situation changes, he added.
“Our first priority is the health and safety of the athletes and our members, and we’re using all possible precautions for keeping our athletes safe,” Abbott said. “That said, we’re looking to get resources, information and support from the medical community and government agencies that are involved in the issue.”
The Olympic trials are the property of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which on Monday postponed the Tokyo Media Summit that was set for next week in Los Angeles due to COVID-19 concerns. The 2020 Olympic Games are set for July 24-Aug. 9 in Tokyo, Japan.
USA Wrestling has its own advisory committee on the novel coronavirus, and, according to Abbott, has been working closely with the USOPC, the International Wrestling Federation, United World Wrestling, the NCAA, Penn State and other partners on gathering and processing information from health experts and through the decision-making process.
“At this point there’s been no changes in any of the events we’re doing, but it’s being reviewed on a daily basis,” Abbott said.
As of Tuesday evening, there’ been 43,141 confirmed cases worldwide, including 959 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been 12 presumptive positive cases so far in Pennsylvania, according to the state Department of Health. All have been in the eastern part of the state, and none have been publicly connected to State College or Penn State.
Special Olympics PA on Monday announced it was suspending “all training and competitive activities” through the end of the month, including next week’s Unified Bocce State Championships in Hershey. The NCAA told the (Minnesota) StarTribune on Tuesday that there are “no plans to cancel or modify” anything for the NCAA Wrestling Championships March 19-21 in Minneapolis.
Abbott said that as of now, there is not a deadline for when they have to decide whether or not to postpone or cancel the trials, but that is something they’ve been talking about. There is also so far no contingency plan for the event of postponement or cancellation, but they’re keeping different options open.
“We’re keeping our minds and focus open on what might develop,” Abbott said. “But at this time it’s full steam ahead. We’re planning on running the event, our partners are working with us, and we’re having regular conversations about it.”
As far as the health and safety of USA Wrestling athletes is concerned, Abbott said they’re equipping those traveling internationally with information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization with best practices on how to protect themselves.
Just this past weekend, USA Wrestling had several athletes, including former Penn State great Jason Nolf, competing in Ottawa, Canada, at the Pan Am Championships. This week, 14 athletes, including former Nittany Lion and 2018 World champ David Taylor, will also be competing in Ottawa, to qualify their weight classes for the Olympics at the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier.
For its part, Penn State has canceled all spring break and travel abroad for embedded courses and student organizations, and restricted travel to China, Italy and South Korea among other measures, including evaluating large gatherings such as conferences and athletic events.
“This is a serious deal, and we’re taking it with a very serious approach and counting on the involvement of others who are experts,” Abbott said.
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 8:17 PM.
