[ad_1]
Xander Schauffele has always watched the Summer Olympics grow. He had no other choice. His father, Stefan, is a former Olympic hopeful for Germany in the decathlon.
“My father loved to watch athletics,” Schauffele said.
Stefan’s Olympic aspirations came to an end nearly 40 years ago. a drunk driver crashed into his car and a piece of windshield got stuck in Stefan’s left eye. Despite multiple surgeries, the vision in the eye did not improve. Stefan was 20 years old.
Xander Schauffele: “Her dream was taken away from her. fifth in the men’s world golf rankingssaid in an interview last week. “As a young golfer, I could relate to a situation where something you’ve been working on for years was taken away from you. It was tragic.”
when is golf Returned as an Olympic sport In 2016, after a 112-year hiatus, Schauffele, a newcomer to the PGA Tour, suddenly had a new goal beyond his hopes for major titles. Qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics will be a chance to fulfill a family passion.
Or as Stefan, his son’s lifetime swing coach, put it last week: “It’s kind of like a full circle of my own dream.”
On Thursday in Japan (6:30 p.m. ET Wednesday), Schauffele will kick off the first round of the men’s Olympic golf competition. Due to the protocols established to hold the Games during the pandemic, he was only allowed to bring one person from his hometown of San Diego to the Olympics. Stefan made a trip to Japan.
This decision may have seemed obvious, but for Schauffeles there were other considerations. Xander’s mother, Ping-Yi Chen, who met Stefan when they were both college students in San Diego, was born in Taiwan but grew up in Japan and has about 100 relatives living in the Tokyo area.
Xander has made 15 trips to Japan and stayed close with his grandparents in Tokyo, though he’s unsure whether to visit them during or after the Olympics. Interactions between participating athletes and Japanese citizens are restricted.
“But I’ll keep asking to see them,” said Schauffele. “Hopefully we can work something out.”
More than 40 of Schauffele’s relatives living in Japan had planned to participate in four rounds of the men’s Olympic golf tournament until a growing number of Covid-19 cases caused authorities to ban spectators from Games events.
Pandemic in America Increasing violence against Asians. Admitting these crimes last week, Schauffele wondered if the Tokyo Olympics would help play a useful role.
“There’s a lot of this Asian hatred lurking right now,” Schauffele said. “It’s coming to life faster with social media. I think it’s a good thing we went to Japan and competed – you know, spread the love. Straight competition that has nothing to do with race.” That’s why I like sports in general.”
Schauffele is one of four Americans in Olympic golf and, given his track record at major championships, would be a favorite to win a gold medal at Kasumigaseki Country Club, about 23 miles north of Tokyo. He’s been a serious contender at the Masters twice in the last three years, three months ago. He finished in the top five three times at the US Open and finished second at the 2018 British Open.
Stefan equated an Olympic victory with winning one of the four majors in professional men’s golf.
“It’s not a fifth major,” Stefan said, “but it’s just as important as a major.”
Xander Schauffele disagreed.
“Winning a gold medal is something no one can take away from you,” he said. “I expect the pressure level to be equal to a big tournament we played in our regular half.”
If Xander wishes, this week’s Olympic golf tournament will be just the beginning. He is already looking at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Due to the pandemic, organizers have asked athletes to arrive in Japan no later than five days before their first event, so many competitors did not participate in the nations parade at the opening ceremony.
Thinking of his father, Schauffele probably wants to participate in another Olympics when a pandemic hasn’t changed important rituals.
It would be really great to attend the opening ceremony with my father.” “It’s probably something he’s dreamed of doing for a really long time. I think it would be really special to go to another Olympics and walk with him at that ceremony.”
[ad_2]
Source link