The coronavirus pandemic has decimated the global sporting calendar, shutting down various leagues across different countries abruptly and forcing major sporting events like the 2020 Olympics and Euros to be postponed until 2021. This has put sports stars across the globe in limbo, with many athletes uncertain about when they’ll be able to perform on the big stage again.
Since there’s nothing sports stars can do about coronavirus other than wait for governments and health organisations to remedy the situation, many are coming up with all sorts of inventive ways to keep themselves occupied while staying at home.
Training and exercise
Most sports stars know how important training is to maintain their performance and just how destructive lack of exercise can be even if it’s just for a few weeks. Athletes need to maintain their fitness at the highest levels, which is why many of them are looking for ways to stay in prime shape from the comfort of their homes. Those who had not invested in a home gym have been raiding sports equipment stores over the last few weeks looking for benches, medicine balls, resistance bands, dumbbells, and other exercise equipment to ensure that they can keep fit at home.
While many are doing this voluntarily, some are being forced to stay in shape by their clubs. Bayern Munich players, for instance, have to log into video conferencing app Zoom and take part in team workouts. Some sports stars are also taking advantage of virtual training equipment — from F1 driver Lando Norris participating in virtual F1 races to Tiger Woods practicing on a virtual driving range.
Playing games
The gaming industry is one of the few lucky businesses that have actually benefited from coronavirus. With the majority of the global population forced to stay at home, people are turning to video games as a way to pass time and interact with close friends and family members that they may not be able to see in person, and sports stars have not been left behind. For example, Spanish La Liga stars Borja Iglesias and Sergio Reguilon recently played a Fifa 20 match online and broadcasted it live, garnering more than 62,000 viewers on Twitch. Aside from video games, sports stars are also engaging in other types of games like puzzles and board games with those who they’re in lockdown with. As a result of the growing demand for games, subscription box services related to gaming are in high demand by sports stars and other people who are looking to remain occupied by video games — one of the only industries that has seen an upturn in sales.
Educating the masses
Sports stars have huge followings on social media, and they are using their power to educate the general public about coronavirus. For example, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors in the U.S. recently held an interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the leading experts on coronavirus, in which they answered some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the virus. Cristiano Ronaldo, a renowned footballer with more than 200 million followers across different social media platforms, also recently shared a video where he was teaching his young kids the proper way to wash their hands to protect themselves from the virus.
Like other people, sports stars have to wait for governments and health organizations to do what’s needed to contain the virus so that things can go back to normal. All they can do is stay healthy, keep fit, and do what they need to do to ward off boredom during this period of uncertainty.
