What was it like to be in China during the FINA Champions Series in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic? Although Wuhan was thousands of kilometers away from Shenzhen and Beijing, what was the environment like while the virus was growing?
When the clock struck midnight on December 31, 2019, it was the start of a new decade, a new start, and a new Olympic year. Many athletes around the world were rejoicing knowing that we were only a few months away from an Olympic Games. It was a long wait from the time Rio ended, and it was extra exciting for fans of the sport to see “2020” on the calendar, knowing it was almost time for the global event that comes around every quadrennium.
One of the first international meets of 2020 was the FINA Champions Series, which took place in Shenzhen and Beijing, China. Roughly halfway between the two cities is Wuhan, China, which is where the deadly coronavirus pandemic was first tracked in late 2019. According to The New York Times, the government in Wuhan confirmed in December that health authorities were treating dozens of cases of a “new virus.” At the time, there was no evidence that the virus was readily spread by humans, and health officials in China said they were monitoring it to prevent the outbreak from developing into something more severe.
The 2019 FINA Champions Series. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
But unfortunately, the virus could not be contained, and three months in to the Olympic year, the pandemic had taken the world hostage and caused major events all around the globe to cease. Toward the end of March, the last major marble fell: the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan would be pushed back a whole year, an unprecedented decision in sports history. It was the first time the Olympic Games dates were manipulated by an outside source since 1944 when World War II cancelled those Games as well as the 1940 Olympics.
While the virus was struggling to be contained in China, the sporting world was going on as scheduled. On Jan. 14-15, 63 of the world’s top professional swimmers convened in a two-day competition in Shenzhen, China, more than 1,000 kilometers south of Wuhan.
Three days later, many of those swimmers traveled on a three-hour flight to Beijing, about 1,000 kilometers north of Wuhan.
Swimming World wanted to get a hold of a few swimmers that competed at the FINA Champions Series in China earlier this year to get their thoughts on what it was like competing so close to the origins of a deadly virus that was spreading like wildfire.
Michael Andrew at the 2019 FINA Champions Series. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
“From my point of view, the environment during that period was absolutely fantastic,” Russia’s Andrei Minakov said. “We didn’t face any worrying situations and were happy to take part in such a great competition,” Minakov won the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle at the FINA Champions Series in Shenzhen.
“When we were there, nothing seemed out of the norm, it was just China as usual,” USA’s Michael Andrew said. “For me the focus was obviously just racing and being present there. We definitely did not see any of this coming and certainly felt very normal while we were there.”
“During the meet I didn’t really know much about what was happening,” said Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong. “After the Beijing stop, I went back home in Hong Kong for a week. The day before I left to head back to the U.S., our government encouraged everyone to wear a mask when they leave the house. The last time the whole city had to wear a mask was during the SARS outbreak in 2003, and that’s when I realized how serious the situation was.”
Was there any alarm going on in either Shenzhen or Beijing during the two FINA Champions Series’?
Andrei Minakov – Photo Courtesy: FINA / Budapest 2019
“No, nothing seemed off,” Minakov said. “In fact, all stores were open, streets were overcrowded, and even stands during the meet were fully booked by swimming fans. Additionally, me and my teammate took a trip to the Forbidden City where we saw a huge number of people: tourists, schoolchildren, students – everyone was calm, there was no signs of trouble.”
“It was interesting because nothing really crazy had happened yet,” Andrew said. “It started to circulate in the U.S. and so we had people that started to reach out to us like ‘hey are you guys OK? What’s happening?’ And while we were over there we had no idea what was going on because we weren’t following the news and we weren’t aware of anything.”
By January 11, China reported its first death from the virus. Chinese backstroker Xu Jiayu, who won the 100 backstroke at both stops in front of his Chinese fans, donated his winnings from the meet that totaled U.S. $10,000 to hospitals fighting the coronavirus.
“Even while we were there, we never got any sort of notifications from the meet organizers or the hosts like ‘be careful,'” Michael Andrew said. “We were relatively close to Wuhan where a lot of the virus outbreak started to spread so we weren’t very far. So where we were, there was nothing that was being affected quite yet. Fortunately we were able to get out before anything did happen. I could not imagine anything worse than being stuck in China for the last two months.”
“I think the CSS happened when the virus outbreak was at an early stage and it wasn’t a big problem outside of Wuhan,” Siobhan Haughey said. “As far as I remember, people weren’t taking extra precautions.”
Siobhan Haughey. Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant
The FINA Champions Series concluded from Beijing on January 19, and that was when the athletes started to take notice of how serious the situation was getting. Shenzhen and Beijing are about 1,000 miles away from Wuhan in either direction. According to Al Jazeera, Beijing and Shenzhen did not get confirmed coronavirus cases until January 20, a day after the Beijing stop concluded.
Three days later on January 23 the city of Wuhan was shut down. On January 30, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency.
A day later on January 31st, the Trump Administration shut down entry into the United States by any foreign nationals who had traveled to China in the past 14 days, excluding the immediate family members of American citizens or permanent residents.
“We only found out a week after flying home when I think the borders had started to shut down too as well so all the in-going and outgoing flights stopped. We were super grateful that we had gotten out in time,” Andrew said.
“I wasn’t afraid because I was coming back home,” Minakov said. “The issue was not yet critical, even in China. For most of the time in China we were isolated from local population and we were in cities that weren’t much affected by the virus.”
“I wasn’t really ever spooked and even to this point now, I’m not afraid of the virus itself,” Andrew said. “I think what is more frightening is how it is affecting the world as a whole. It is good to be extreme and stay at home and wash your hands. I also think it is really interesting how it has affected businesses and lives in a very big way.
“I was never afraid of being sick coming home because we went through our two-week period in being smart and training and no events had been cancelled. There was no inclination towards the quarantine that soon came after the morning and all of that which was quite a while after racing in January. There was no fear in our minds, it was just business as usual. Just moving forward and preparing for Tokyo 2020 – what was Tokyo 2020 and we were looking forward to all of it and it quickly came to a halt.”
Coronavirus Timeline (Courtesy of New York Times)
- December 31: Chinese authorities treated dozens of cases of pneumonia of unknown case
- January 11: China reports its first death in Wuhan
- January 14: FINA Champions Series in Shenzhen begins
- January 18: FINA Champions Series in Beijing begins
- January 20: Other countries, including the US, confirm cases
- January 23: Wuhan, a city of more than 11 million, was cut off by Chinese authorities
- January 30: World Health Organization declares global emergency
- January 31: Trump Administration restricts travel from China
- February 2: First coronavirus death was reported outside China
- February 11: The virus receives the name: COVID-19
- February 29: The US records its first coronavirus death and announces travel restrictions
- March 11: The National Basketball Association suspends its season after a player tests positive for the virus
- March 12: The NCAA cancels all winter championships
- March 13: Donald Trump declares a national emergency in the United States.
- March 19: For the first time, China reports zero local infections.
- March 24: The Tokyo Olympics are officially delayed to 2021.
Now, the calendar has been reset, as if 2020 was given a second chance.
USA Swimming has laid out a tentative plan for its national level meets to take place should the CDC deem it safe. Swimming Canada has put its Olympic Trials in the same time frame ahead of the Games, and is hoping to send a large contingent to the still-scheduled Short Course World Championships in December of this year.
Now the world patiently awaits when it can open its doors again and be able to travel freely.