Arthur and Nick Albiero

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The NCAA Championships are cancelled, and that was a blow to many University of Louisville swimmers.

But, when you have a program like the one Arthur Albiero does, there's always that larger goal of the Olympics. The Cardinals' head coach said he has had as many as 18 Olympic hopefuls come through Louisville in the past couple of weeks, and they're all wondering what will happen with the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

"The IOC made a strong statement a couple of days ago that everything will go as planned," Albiero said. "That seems a little tone deaf to me. All the prep meets to this point have been annihilated — for lack of a better term — so I'm not sure. I think it would be irresponsible to keep things as is and say that July 24 we're going to have the Opening Ceremony in the Olympics."

Albiero expects the games to be delayed, and that makes coming up with a coaching plan for his athletes — including his son, Nick Albiero — pretty difficult. There's just nothing on the calendar to build toward right now. 

"Nobody has the answers it seems," said Nick Albiero, a junior on the Cards' swim team. "I get frustrated at that, because I just want him to tell me what to do, and he has no idea."

Nick Albiero is hoping to swim for Team USA but is currently enjoying a break from the pool after seeing his season prematurely end before the NCAA Championships. He was a favorite to win multiple events. 

"So far, this is a week off for everybody; this is OK," Arthur Albiero said. "But, as next week shows up, the pinch is going to be felt more than ever, and we need to come up with a better plan for everybody. The fear is — I don't know that we have any answers right now."

Albiero estimates that 75% of his swimmers don't have access to a pool right now, which makes coaching difficult. Stealing a few of his words probably best describes what the near future holds for the U of L athletes and the 2020 Games: "Unknown at best."

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