Nadia Power has said she's accepted that competing in foreign competitions in the next few months has likely been "wiped off the slate" but the Irish champion is crossing her fingers for a welcome return to competitive action at a national championships in August.

Power took bronze at the 2019 Under-23 European Championships and was building nicely this year for a charge at making the Tokyo Games.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has obliterated the calendar and disrupted athletes' training schedules enormously but Power has remained positive.

Power returned to training at Morton Stadium this week and is now eyeing the National Track and Field Championships, which are still pencilled in for 8/9 August in Santry.

"A lot of elite athletes race abroad a lot. I've kind of wiped that off the slate now; I don't think that's happening," she told RTÉ Sport's Evanne Ní Chuilinn.

"But a National Championships in August would really be great, even if it's behind closed doors. We'd all love that I think."

It's been a challenging period for top-level athletes who've had to stay finely tuned in extraordinary circumstances. Now, they're finally getting the chance to hone their talents properly again and are taking aim at Tokyo in 2021. 

"It's really exciting, because [my training has] all been on grass the last while and you just can't get the same training done," Power added.

"Luckily as a distance runner I can keep fit but there's a risk of injury with pot holes and stuff like that. You can only really pick up speed here so it's a great feeling.

"I was building up momentum nicely, I'd just won my first national senior title indoors. I was excited for outdoors but it's great for me looking towards Tokyo.

"I do need another year to get to that standard so I see it as a great thing for a young athlete like me. I just have to make the most of it.

"I bought a bike [in the lockdown] and learned to use that for a bit of extra training. I got some gym equipment for my back garden. It was tough training alone with your goals kind of taken away but at the same time we didn't have much else to do. I focused a lot on my training and it was nice having the luxury of more time.

"I think if you kept a base [of fintess] going throughout the lockdown, once you're back on the track you can really pick it up again and get to race level within six to eight weeks on the track."

Meanwhile, Jason Smyth multiple Paralympic and World sprint champion was back in training at the Mary Peters track in Belfast and spoke of the difficulties of being away from such facilities. 

"When you consider I've less than 10% vision, the amount of people walking about, dogs running about, and trying to train and not seeing well - and the reality is, you're always going to train - that has an impact on preparation and even health and safety. 

"So, being away from the track has been a little frustrating at times."