The family of a Windsor-Essex Olympian has been waiting on pins and needles on her events, from thousands of miles away.
With a surge in COVID-19 cases in Japan resulting in spectators being barred from venues at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the supporters of Canada's athletes are forced to adjust sleep patterns to watch the events on TV and online. But for the mother of LaSalle swimmer Kylie Masse, it's just another day at the office.
Cindy Masse told Windsor's Country morning host Morgan Ryan that despite not seeing her daughter swim in person, there isn't much of a difference.
"Personally, I'm disappointed because I was looking forward to seeing Japan and seeing some of its history, and that kind of thing," said Masse. "But you're watching a swim meet whether you're watching it from home or live."
Masse used a creative analogy to describe how it felt to watch her daughter compete in events she had trained years for.
"Your kid studies and studies and studies for how long, then they take the M-CAT, and they do really well on it," said Masse. "Then you have a camera on you, and everybody's aware, and you have to watch your kid, in front of all these people, open up this letter to find out if they get in or don't."
That letter has provided good news for Kylie Masse throughout her swim career. On Monday night, she won a silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke event, bested only by Australia's Kaylee McKeown. Masse had tied for the bronze medal at that same event five years ago at Rio de Janeiro.
Kylie Masse will begin qualifying for her other Olympic event, the 200-meter breaststroke, on Thursday morning Windsor time due to the 13-hour time difference with Japan.