Stranded in Japan, South Sudan athletes keep Olympic dreams alive

The postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was a heavy blow for many athletes, but a team of South Sudanese sprinters training in a Japanese town are hoping to turn the delay to their advantage.

The four athletes and a coach have been in the city of Maebashi, north of Tokyo, since November, taking advantage of training facilities that aren't available in their young but poor home country.

And with news of the historic postponement of the Games over the coronavirus, they've decided to stay on until at least July, hoping to beef up their skills.

"The Tokyo Olympics (have been) postponed. It's not a problem," team coach Joseph Rensio Tobia Omirok, 59, told AFP.

"I'm happy because I'm still training, and in other countries they have no training. They're sitting in their house but here we are OK... Training now is going OK."
'Very loving people'
"The love I got here... is more than even what I expected. So I have not missed home so much because I am staying in a very peaceful environment with very loving people. So I was very surprised at that."
'I still have time'
"And we shall be happy to see people from Maebashi there also."