How Elite Athletes Are Staying Fit Under Lockdown

We asked top athletes what they’re doing during the pandemic. Here’s what they told us.

Christie Aschwanden
Elemental

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Desiree Linden. Photo: Boston Globe/Getty Images

PPeople in office jobs are working from home. Many service industry employees have been furloughed or laid off. And professional athletes? They’re out of work at the moment, too.

The Boston Marathon has been postponed until fall. CrossFit events are being rescheduled for later dates. The Olympics have been put off for a year, and spring and early summer cycling events like the Giro d’Italia are canceled or postponed.

Elemental asked top athletes from a variety of sports what they’re doing to cope with the upheaval caused by the new coronavirus. Here’s what they told us.

Desiree Linden

Sport: Marathon

Photo: Desiree Linden

At the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in February, Desiree Linden missed qualifying for the team by one place. She had planned to try for a better result in April at the Boston Marathon, a race she won in 2018. But with that marathon postponed until fall, she’s using the extra time off “to really recover from the Olympic…

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Christie Aschwanden
Elemental

Author of GOOD TO GO: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery (Norton, 2019). Twitter: @CragCrest christieaschwanden.com