Former world champion Yang Jiayu readies herself for Tokyo Olympics

BEIJING - Former world race walk champion Yang Jiayu has adjusted her training schedule due to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games and is readying herself for an Olympic debut.

Yang, 2017 world champion in the 20km race walk, was preparing to make her first Olympic appearance this year in Tokyo but the 24-year-old's plan was scrapped as the Tokyo Games were pushed back for one year due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"I trained very well during the winter camp and I had a good plan. I was to compete in the national trial and get the qualification before I go to the long-awaited Olympics," Yang told the bjd.com.cn.

"But the Olympics were pushed back. I was at such a loss because I didn't know what my next goal was," she said.

The national athletics team then arranged academic classes for them and provided the athletes psychological counseling to ease the negative effects brought on by the postponement of the Games.

"I am now well adjusted. If I think from another perspective, we have one more year to prepare for the competition. Now I am in a new training cycle," Yang said.

Yang failed to defend her title in 2019 Doha World Athletics Championships after she was disqualified in the final kilometer for fouls.