The Tokyo Games postponement to 2021 was a change-up for U.S. Olympic sports bodies, which all of a sudden faced a decision: keep those who had already been named to an Olympic team for 2020, or reopen qualifying once sports resume?
USA Softball was the first national governing body to name its entire Olympic roster before the coronavirus pandemic, back on Oct. 6. And the only one so far in a team sport — key as athletes don’t qualify by individual performance, but are chosen subjectively by a selection committee.
The 15 best U.S. softball players in October 2019 might not be the 15 best U.