Jet Lag and COVID-19: Extra Challenges for Athletes during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Abstract

Participating in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games demanded great efforts and had become extremely challenging compared with previous competitions. In addition to the physical performance of each modality, athletes had to deal with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and jet lag. The present manuscript pointed out negative factors that encompass the COVID-19 pandemic and the features brought out by the jet lag experienced by the athletes of this last Olympics. The influences of the pandemic and the procedures adopted to reduce transmission risk of the virus may have amplified the weight of jet lag for the athletes of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, even more considering the occurrence of this event in the far east of the globe.