Introduction: The disruption of the Olympic cycle of Tokyo 2020 caused by the COVID-19 lockdown and the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games forced Olympic hopefuls to go through a series of uncertain and challenging phases. These, event and non-event, can be understood as two concurrent non-normative transitions that could have the potential to put mental health of elite athletes on risk. The aim of the present study is to explore the narratives of elite athletes during the different phases of the disruption of Tokyo 2020, understand how those evolve during time, and their impact on mental health. Methods: Eight elite athletes from a high-performance center in preparation for Tokyo 2020 (6 female and 2 male) took part in this longitudinal qualitative study. The data collection was done by a series of semi-structured online synchronous interviews that took place in three specific moments: during lockdown, in the beginning of the `new normality` and in the pre-Olympic phase. The philosophical position of Interpretivism was used as a companion and extension of the thematic narrative analysis used for data analysis. Results: Elite athletes define Tokyo 2020s preparation phase as a bumpy road that presented unclear conditions towards the final destination. During their road to Tokyo 2020, three specific time related narratives were identified: (a) lockdown: moving from threat to opportunity; (b) `new normality`: embracing uncertainty and (c) pre-Olympic phase: pulling the handbrake. Two more narratives, (d) giving up the control fallacies and (e) the adaptability as a distinction of being an athlete, were present during the whole preparation process and overlapped with the situational narratives. The overall preparation process showed that the influence of the environment (i.e., coaches, families) and psychological aspects such as resilience are a key protective factor when ensuring elite athletes` mental health. Conclusions: The road to Tokyo 2020 has allowed us to identify that athletes possess a series of resources to recalculate their route in case of unexpected events and adapt to uncertain circumstances. In this sense, psychological protective factors, such as resilience and adaptability, should be included in career assistance programs as well as psychoeducation for the entourage. Future investigations should explore the experiences of the agents of the environment (i.e., coaches, families) in supporting athletes on non-normative transitions and to explore the post-Olympic transition in this disrupted Olympic cycle.
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