TOKYO -- Olympic hopeful Nicole Stout knew her shot at the games was over when, in the middle of a competition in Argentina, the American received word that the International Judo Federation would postpone tournaments for the rest of March and April, two of which she needed to qualify for the Tokyo Games.
"Not having those qualifiers stunts a lot of athletes," said Stout, who ranks 104th in the world and would need to place above 30 to enter the Olympics. "Pretty much everyone at my club in New York has decided to focus on 2024. It feels so much out of our control at this point that it's more positive to focus on the next cycle."
