Kristina Knott, whose road to the Olympic Games was temporarily derailed by her COVID-19 infection four weeks ago, was greeted by the blazing summer weather when she started working out exclusively at the Transcosmos Track and Field Stadium on Wednesday morning in Isahaya City in southern Nagasaki.
Knott didn’t mind the temperature that ranged from 32 to 34-degrees celsius when she ran around the oval and began training for her lone event (200 meters) in the Tokyo Olympics. She knew it simulated the conditions she will be experiencing at the National Stadium in Kasumigaoka at the Shinjuku area in Tokyo.
“Convenient,” said Knott on Facebook Live as she described the stadium, where she will do her routines for three days.
Knott, who is with coach Rohsaan Griffin and strength and conditioning coach Carlo Buzzichelli, will train exclusively at the Transcosmos until Monday.
After that, Knott moves to another venue, because the Transcosmos will be used as COVID-19 vaccination facility for local residents.
“Relaxed lang siya, pero focused. I like her state of mind going into the competition,” said Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association marketing and communications chief Edward Kho, who paid the group a visit and watched as Knott in her first hour of training.
“It was a great opening day. We had a good session on both the weight room and the track,” said Griffin.
There will be no distractions during the training sessions since their team will use the stadium all by themselves.
On Saturday, Knott and her coaches will go to Shimabara municipal oval in Shimabara City to practice.
After that, Knott will be in Tokyo for the women’s 200-meter sprints, where she will try to cross the 23-second barrier.
