"Canada was the first country that said it would not send a team," Park told World Taekwondo. "I thought I would have to watch it from home, it was heartbreaking - I’d just never imagined."

Her father and coach, Jae Park, added: "The gut-wrenching part was that Canada would not participate, it that felt like somebody had kicked me in the stomach. I tried to put on a good face, but I have never felt those emotions before."

Skylar reflected: "It was a change in mindset - from a few months to a year. After speaking with my dad and coach, we were able to see it as an opportunity."

That chance to re-trench was especially welcome for a fighter who has been on a whirlwind journey since winning at the World Junior Championships on home turf in Burnaby, Canada, in 2016.

She has since won medals at three Grand Prix events, two President Cups and multiple Opens, but admits: "It’s been a crazy whirlwind since Burnaby - crazy! The competitions, pre-COVID, were non-stop.

"So it is nice to have such a long period of time to focus on the things I had to. Being a younger athlete I have lots of room to grow, so the chance to work on my weaknesses has been really, really good."

While lockdowns have confined athletes across the world, Park has been fortunate to have a full, en-suite training system outside her bedroom door. Not only does she live with dad-coach, but the Parks maintain a fully equipped basement dojang at home.

She even has two sparring partners in the form of her brothers.

"For the whole of corona, I have been training with dad and my two brothers," she said. "I was able to kick them around when they were younger but they have gotten stronger - now I am being kicked around!"

But while Park has thrived within the lockdown, the pandemic has been a huge strain for her father.

COVID-19 has been calamitous for gym owners around the world, and teaching taekwondo is the Park family’s business and income source.

"It has been quite tough," Jae said. "When corona started in mid-February, we were shut down for three months; summer was better, but now we are in lockdown again."

Early in the crisis, the school pivoted swiftly to online classes and retained its student base, "but nobody was signing on."

The fact that the Parks have been able to keep their heads above water is due to the solid heritage of their Winnipeg-based dojang.

The Tae Ryong Park Taekwondo and Hapkido Academy was established in 1993 by Jae and his father, Grand Master Deuk H. Park; the two have almost 100 years of experience in the martial arts.

The dojang has been widely featured in media and even appeared in a martial arts documentary hosted by Hollywood heroes Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris.

"We are lucky, we do have a very established business," Jae said. "This is hurting us financially, but we are not in any danger of closing; I think all the hard work we put in for years and years and years has been really important to get through these times."

Meanwhile Skylar’s technical approach has undergone changes as she has taken on the highly technical, point-scoring kicks, tactics and tricks of the Olympic-level elite.

"Over the past four years I have been adapting to the kicks, and to using the knees in different ways," Skylar said.

"The mental game has been really big in the last few years. The tactical aspect - the mental toughness of the game."

Speaking in the aftermath of her world junior win, Skylar’s father reflected for World Taekwondo on her mental strengths.

"Her mental game is weaker than more than 50 percent of the athletes - and that is part of the plan! Athletes that have a strong mental game at the beginning do not emphasise the physical so much, as they get away with using strategy," he said.

"In my opinion, strategy can come later on, but if you don’t develop a physical base it is too late - the body only gives you a certain amount of time to develop; the mind can always develop."

Now, however, his daughter has had unexpected time to attend to both the mental and physical aspects - and that can surely only help her prospects at the Games that are now scheduled to start on July 23…