The main thing which the quote tells you about the sacrifices that elite athletes need to make to be successful is:
The connections which I can make between this idea and the personal sacrifices that many people have been making during the pandemic is:
This refers to a top level athlete who has been training for a very long time to compete at the Olympic events to win gold medals.
Although the article wasn't mentioned, it can be inferred that Brad Gushue was of the opinion that a wrong association at the wrong time can end an Olympic dream.
As a result of this, he shows the sacrifice which these Olympic athletes and athletes in general has to make in order to become successful by maintaining a very high level.
Read more about olympic dream here:
https://brainly.com/question/1150092