Girls Swimming: 'It's just going to be a little later' Oswego East's Grace Cooper dream deferred as Olympics postponed

It was always Grace Cooper's dream to reach the Olympic Trials.

When she reached high school at Oswego East, she wrote the goal down on a piece of paper. She planned to be her coach Deryl Leubner's first pupil to make it.

For now, it's a dream deferred.

That's after International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound told USA Today on Monday that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will likely be pushed back to 2021, the latest sporting event to be postponed or canceled because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The U.S. Olympic Trials was to be held June 21-28 in Omaha. Cooper had qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 50 and 100 freestyle at the USA Swimming Winter National Championships in 2018.

Cooper, disappointed at the news, said her family has had a hotel booked in Omaha for well over a year – but she's already looking ahead.

"It's been my goal to just go to the trials since I was really young," Cooper said. "When I finally made it I was so excited. I'm still going to go, it's just going to be a little later."

Cooper, who won five individual state championships and one relay championship among 16 medals in high school, had competed internationally last August at the Junior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Cooper, who will attend the University of Texas this fall, hadn't really pondered the possibility of making the Olympics in 2020, instead thinking long-term.

"I was a little more focused on the Trials," Cooper said. "I'm more focused on 2024 and training through college and having that opportunity. There's always a chance that I'd make the Olympics, but I wasn't really expecting it. I was just excited to be able to swim and compete and get some fast times."

Cooper was supposed to be in Orlando this week for the National Club Swimming Association Spring Championships with her Oswego-based Delta Aquatics club team, but the meet was canceled March 12.

Cooper's last time in a pool was exactly a week ago.

"I don't think there's a single pool open," Cooper said. "It's nice to have a break, but it's disappointing."

Cooper, who said she never gets to sleep in normally, these days isn't waking up until 9:30 a.m. She tries to get her "dry land" work, running a couple miles, in before noon.

"I'm trying to at least stay active and not get out of shape," Cooper said. "Swimming is a lot of muscle memory. I think we'll all be good. We can't swim until school starts again anyway."

Cooper also had an April meet in Mission Viejo, Calif. canceled, as well as one in May and June. So there is a part of her that figures it's not such a bad thing that the Olympic Trials won't be held.

USA Swimming on Friday had asked the Olympic Committee to postpone the summer games.

"I was kind of hoping it would be canceled. I feel unprepared," Cooper said. "A lot of athletes aren't going to have a pool to train in, it wouldn't be fair to us. We'd be out of shape. I could still do it, I would give it my all, but at this point you're kind of mentally out of it. I'm not super upset. More time to prepare. Obviously the goal is 2021 now."