Impact of COVID-19 and the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on Paralympic athletes and staff: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

We aimed to investigate the impact of the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on expected participants' careers, COVID-19 history and mental health using an e-survey. Thirty-nine participants (median age 37 years; 16 females) from five countries responded between July 20th and September 28th, 2021, of which 37 completed the survey, including 20 athletes and 11 coaches. All but two participants planned to attend the rescheduled Games in 2021 (95%). Ninety percent (35/39) had previously tested at least once for COVID-19, with six testing positive. While three had no symptoms, all six were moderately impacted. Scores (median; lower and upper quartiles; questionnaire) for depression (2; 0.75-4; PHQ-9) and anxiety (2; 0-5.25; GAD-7) were low. Scores for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (3.5; 1-11; IES-R) were also low, but four participants reported high scores indicative of clinical concern for PTSD. There was low emotional distress caused by postponement of the Games (2; 1-4.5), and moderately low fear of catching COVID-19 (3; 2-5.5) on 10-point (0 = none, 10 = extreme) rating scales. While overall this population appears relatively resilient, the postponement of the Games came at a cost for some athletes and coaches, specifically with regards to experiencing symptoms of PTSD.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Funding Statement

This study did not receive any funding.

Author Declarations

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

This study protocol was approved by the University of British Columbia Clinical Research Ethics Board (H20-04011).

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Data Availability

All data produced in the present work are contained in the manuscript.

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