Hundreds of Australian athletes have opened up on the personal toll COVID-19 has wrought on their professional careers in an anonymous survey. The financial, mental and physical scars of the COVID-19 pandemic on Australia's athletes have been laid bare in a new report and could linger long after the Tokyo Olympics. The Australian Sports Foundation report, released on Tuesday and based on an anonymous survey, found athletes' ability to perform on the national and international stage has worsened amid the global health crisis. Of the 521 athletes polled late last year, nearly 61 per cent reported financial losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.