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A number of standout swimmers from Fort Collins were preparing for the U.S. Olympic swim trials in June when the Tokyo 2020 games got postponed this week She was happy to call her swimming career over at the conclusion of the 2019 NCAA championships.

The former Fossil Ridge High School swimmer was dealing with bicep tendinitis in both shoulders, so when she finished her college swimming career with Auburn, she decided it was time to take care of herself and leave the water behind for a while.

She graduated college, took a vacation to New Zealand and did some coaching. She barely dipped her toes in a pool.

Then the allure of the Olympics dragged her back. Nero had qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic swim trials in advance of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and couldn't resist the urge for one final go.

“I decided I really, really love the idea of ending (my career) at my third Olympic trials,” said Nero, a 2015 Fossil Ridge graduate. “My favorite meet of all time. It would be amazing to end it that way.”

Nero now lives in North Carolina, where she’ll soon start pharmaceutical school at the University of Northern Carolina. The trials — scheduled for June in Omaha — and the Olympics have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a way, it helps Nero. Her shoulders are feeling much better, and now she has more time to get into peak shape for the trials. But it’s also complicated, because now she has to decide if she can or wants to juggle school and prep for the trials.

"In my own personal opinion, it’s actually really exciting to have a whole year now to possibly get to a point in my life where I’m the best and fittest I’ve ever been," Nero said. "It is kind of a relief. I would have loved to do Olympic trials this year, but now is not an option. Everyone needs to be healthy and safe; it was what was needed at this point." For former Fossil Ridge and current Indiana swimmer Bailey Kovac, the timing is unfortunate. This summer was supposed to be her last long-course season. She's graduating next year and with a date not set for the meet, doesn't know if she'll be able to be there.

"The fact that it got pushed back to next year was kind of heartbreaking for me," Kovac said. "I was fortunate enough to go in 2016 and I got to experience everything that meet had to offer. It's the pinnacle of swimming. I was really looking forward to being back there. I don't know now if I'll be able to do it."

Kovac and former Fossil Ridge teammate Zoe Bartel were some of the many on a “roller coaster” of emotions over the past few weeks as the U.S. has tried to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus and abruptly ended the college season.

Bartel won a team national title with Stanford University last year as a freshman, and the Cardinal were favored to repeat this year. The championships would have been last weekend, but NCAA championships were called off earlier in March.

“When you get the news that its officially canceled, it’s a pretty big dead drop. Your jaw drops,” Bartel said. “We had a meeting that day and we all sat around in a circle and kind of did our best to celebrate our seniors, because that’s what we usually do after NCAAs.”

More were hopeful of qualifying at a spring sectional that was canceled.

Bartel swam at the trials as a 15-year-old in 2016, finishing 13th in the 200-meter breaststroke. The lost NCAA season and the expanded closing of pools around the country led to concern about being prepared for the Olympic trials.

In a weird way, the postponement of the Olympics was a relief. Top-level pro swimmers could train at private facilities, but most of the rest of elite swimmers were left, literally, on dry land.

A new date for the Olympics is still to be determined. There’s no game plan for the swimmers on how to prepare for trials, but they’ll be closer to even ground with the date pushed back.

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The change to something so big is a shock to the system, but it couldn’t realistically have gone any other way.

“It’s hard news to receive and hard to hear and pretty sad,” Bartel said. “Overall, we’re putting health and everyone's safety as the No. 1 priority, which obviously is extremely important.”

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