Illawarra track stars Ryan Gregson and Jessica Hull will commence their road to the rescheduled Tokyo Olympic Games in unique circumstances on Saturday morning (AEST).
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The duo will feature in the Monaco Diamond League event, the meet marking the return of the international athletics circuit from a coronavirus-induced hiatus.
Each athlete was tested for COVID-19 prior to their arrival in Monaco, with the process already claiming one high-profile victim.
Olympic and World steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto was forced to withdraw from the meet after returning a positive result.
With Australian borders closed, both Hull and Gregson required an exemption to leave the country to compete in the Diamond League. The pair will complete two weeks in hotel quarantine upon their return home.
Prior to departing for Europe, Hull spoke of the strict instructions coach Pete Julian had set out for the trip.
"We had a team meeting via Zoom and Pete laid the foundation," Hull said last month. "We're not on a holiday. This trip is even more a business trip than usual, there will be no sightseeing.
"We'll have a small bubble, just the six athletes plus Pete and our strength and conditioning coach.
"In terms of training, I know I'm ready to race. That takes out the nerves in terms of my performance. I know I've done the work, I'm fit and healthy."
As with most sports, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on the track and field calendar, with events cancelled and others rescheduled.
Had COVID-19 not plunged the world into lockdown, the Tokyo Olympics would have concluded on Sunday night, with Gregson and Hull likely returning home from a successful competition.
Instead the pair are in Monaco preparing to line up for their first international race in months, with Gregson to contest a 1500 metre event while Hull will feature in the women's 5000m.
Hull will face off against Gregson's wife Genevieve, along with a host of world-class runners, including training partner Konstanze Klosterhalfen and Dutch star Sifan Hassan.
The men's 1500m race will also be hotly contested, with world champion Timothy Cheruiyot headlining a talent-laden field.
The pair have followed different paths to Monaco, Hull spending the past five months at home in Albion Park after returning from Portland, USA.
Melbourne-based Gregson escaped to Forster in March, before a shift to the Gold Coast, where Genevieve's family resides.
Despite the different lockdown routines, both Gregson and Hull have spent the period training, determined to be ready the moment international competition returned.
The Diamond League will continue in the coming months with another four events in Europe before legs in Qatar and China.
The pair travelled overseas with plenty of confidence, with Hull producing an outstanding 3000m in pouring rain in Bankstown last month to take out a virtual competition.
Gregson also contested the event, finishing third after an impressive run in atrocious conditions in Brisbane.
The Bulli product then backed up that effort with a victory at the Queensland 10,000m Championships, with Genevieve taking out the women's event.
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Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
