When the Team USA star A’ja Wilson got the chance to represent her country in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, she wouldn’t have imagined how it would turn too dull for her. Though she was excited to represent her country in her first Olympics campaign and also got a chance to grab gold, there was something amiss. As she makes her Olympics run for the second time, she looks back at the Tokyo Olympics journey and reveals what was amiss.

Wilson was present in an exclusive chat with Josie Gross-Whitaker when she divulged her experience of the Tokyo Olympics. The 28-year-old didn’t shy away from admitting that she wanted her parents to be a part of the opening ceremony and watch their child participate in the biggest sporting event in the world. However, it wasn’t meant to be. “Just my parents being there. They didn’t get the chance to go to Tokyo. So, just for them, being in the moment and just seeing their child be underneath the brightest lights of the world.”

Wilson also didn’t hold back her thoughts regarding the Tokyo Olympics ceremony and how it was a frustrating event for her. “I mean, it sucked because obviously we did the opening ceremony and there was just no one there. But business went as usual. We had to go out there and take care of business,” Wilson told USA Basketball.

Moving Forward – that was the theme of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony due to the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19. The ceremony was initially planned to have a seating capacity of 68,000 spectators, but could only house around 10,400 live audiences which mainly included officials and media members. Thus, the ceremony couldn’t be open to everyone owing to the social distancing measures followed to prevent the spread of COVID.

Due to the pandemic, the ceremony along with the games had to be postponed. Therefore, as rightly pointed out by Wilson, her parents couldn’t attend the celebration due to COVID protocols. However, the Paris Olympics ceremony which Wilson looked forward to also turned out to be a little disappointing.

A’ja Wilson was disappointed by the Paris Olympics ceremony

Light? Check! Spectators? Check! Location? The beautiful River Seine. The Paris Olympics ceremony was open to almost 300,000 spectators. Parading for 6 km, the ceremony finally ended at the picturesque location near the foot of the Eiffel Tower. When everything was topnotch what could possibly go wrong? Oh, we didn’t say the weather.

It started drizzling in Paris as the opening ceremony started, and athletes had to wear their raincoats. The rain-marred event, as per Wilson, made her “not really as into everything as I wanted to be,” as per People. However, the consolation prize was for Wilson to collect special Olympic pins. “I’m not trying to flex but I got a breakdancing pin and a skateboarding pin,” the 27-year-old stated via People.

Perhaps, Wilson will have to wait for the Los Angeles Olympics to get her perfect Olympic ceremony. As for now, she can concentrate on giving her opponents a tough competition and winning herself a gold.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.