2020 was supposed to be the year Emily Regan won her second Olympic gold medal. But COVID-19 took way the Tokyo games this summer, and took a toll on Regan and her teammates.

"I don't think anyone, not anyone in the entire world, could've predicted that 2020 was going to turn out quite like this," Regan said.

In March, the world champion rower from Buffalo was training in New Jersey to make the United States team, when the summer Olympic Games were postponed because of COVID-19. As disappointing as that was, the toughest part was yet to come. 

"We found out actually two days before the Olympics were postponed that we had been exposed to the virus," Regan said.

A team doctor tested positive for coronavirus. Several of Emily's teammates became ill, and then on the 12th day of quarantine, it hit her. Among her symptoms: fever, trouble breathing, body aches, and boy was she tired. 

"The fatigue was unlike anything I've ever experienced before with an illness. Even just getting out of a chair was exhausting for two to two-and-a-half days," she said. 

Her case was presumed positive because of symptoms and exposure during a time when tests were not readily available. She later had an antibody test which was positive for COVID-19.

An elite athlete in her prime, who used to training up to two hours at a time, could barely muster the energy to go for a jog over the next few weeks. 

"I had to stop and walk because my body just didn't feel right. It hurt," she said.

After about a month, she started feeling more like herself again and ramped up her training. Around the same time period, her father, Larry, was back in Buffalo was dealing with his own health issues: surgery and treatments for cancer on his face. His doctors are hopeful he'll make a full recovery. 

"Thankfully, once I was healthy again, I was able to come home for about nine weeks and just be there for my dad and my mom while my dad was going through radiation and help take care of tasks and stuff for them at the house," Regan said.

Last month, with coronavirus cases on the rise across the country, Regan decided to share her experience and show how even a mild case of COVID-19 can affect someone young and in peak physical condition. Her Facebook post has been shared more than 500 times. 

"The more we take it more seriously, the more we care about others and the more we wear our masks, the sooner our lives can go back to more normal things," she said.

For Regan, that's pushing ahead to the Olympics, and another shot at the gold; hopefully next summer. 

"The lowest moments you go through always make the successes so much more meaningful," she said. "So I know that once we make it out of these low times and the challenges, that whatever comes for us on the other side is going to be really special."