Paris calling: After Tokyo, Olympians hanker for 2024 Games

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Thickets of restrictions at the pandemic-hit Tokyo Games severely crimped the experience for Olympians.

That also left athletes hankering to do it all again — but without limitations and social distancing — in Paris in 2024.

If the coronavirus is tamed by then, the Paris Games could quickly become the party games.

Already, there is palpable pent-up eagerness among athletes to make up for Tokyo and its disappointments.

Toughest for many Tokyo Olympians was not being accompanied to Japan by their loved ones.

Also frustrating for them were limits on their movements and interactions to curb coronavirus infections.

U.S. skateboarder Mariah Duran said she anticipates "a whole new energy" in the French capital.