Last week Scout Bassett announced she will not compete in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. The news comes after the Paralympic track-and-field team was first revealed in June and did not include Bassett’s name.
Part of the reason for the delay in Bassett’s announcement, according to Bassett’s rep, is because Bassett was named an alternate to the team, meaning she may have had the chance to compete if someone else was unable to do so.
“Nothing has been very definitive, and that’s part of what has made this process really challenging,” Bassett tells SELF during a follow-up interview to our July cover story.
Ultimately, however, Bassett decided not to travel to Tokyo. And though obviously disappointed, the 100-meter track star and long jumper remains ever optimistic and determined when we speak.
“A couple of the positives of experiencing such disappointment and heartbreak and [being] on this roller coaster of ups and downs the last two months [is that the experience] has given me more courage, more strength, more determination going forward,” Bassett says.
As for her immediate next plans? You can catch her covering the Paralympic track-and-field events for NBC Sports.
“I’m excited because I think it’s important for many reasons,” Bassett says. “Obviously, I love this sport. I’m super passionate about it. But it’s not very often that we see people with disabilities in the space of broadcasting, especially in sports broadcasting. And we rarely ever see Asians in that space of media. So for me to represent these different elements of intersectionality in this space is really exciting. I’m super nervous, but also really excited to have this opportunity.”
After that, like athletes often do, Bassett has already set her sights on her next big competition. The 33-year-old says she loves “a great comeback story” and that she hopes to be competing for years to come—possibly including next year’s World Championships in Kobe, Japan, and the 2024 Paralympic Summer Games in Paris.
“What I’ve realized in all of this is that I’m so much more than an athlete,” Bassett says. “And I think sometimes you lose sight of that. It’s easy to get wrapped up in thinking that the only way people value you is when you’re winning, when you’re up on that podium, when you’re at the Games. One trial, one injury, one Games does not define who you are. Really what defines you is, ‘Okay, what do we do after this?’”
And what Bassett’s doing after this is picking herself back up again. If there’s a pattern to any of this, Bassett jokes, she should feel even more assured about Paris: She didn’t make the Games in 2012, made it to Rio in 2016, won’t compete for 2020, so by that logic, 2024 should be her year.
“I’ve learned so much, and it’s another great reminder that every setback and every failure doesn’t have to be the thing that breaks you,” Bassett says. “It can be the thing that really strengthens you and gives you power to move forward.”