Hauling a tractor, hanging a boat from the roof, a swimming parachute: How athletes are working from home - in pictures

Sports stars are having to improvise as they wait for a return to action

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  Paralympic athlete Roberto La Barbera trains in isolation in Alessandria, Italy. Getty

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  German Formula 3 racing driver Lirim Zendeli trains in a car garage in Bochum, Germany. Getty

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  Melbourne Victory A-League player Leigh Broxham training with his children, triplets Billie, Sonny and Mila in Melbourne, Australia. Getty

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  Swimmer Mia Whelan-O'Connor of ESB Swimming Club swims in her back garden in an inflatable pool, in Inchicore, Dublin, using a swimming parachute and a bungee cord with the assistance of her dad Michael and mother Carol. Getty

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  Olympic hopeful and US national team member Phoebe Bacon trains with her brother Finn Bacon at a family friend's covered, 15-meter pool in Potomac, Maryland. Getty

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  Australian Olympic canoeist Jess Fox trains at her home in Sydney, Australia. Getty

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  Hurricanes back Danny Toala at Hastings Boys High School in Hastings, New Zealand. Getty

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  Max Gawn of Melbourne Demons trains in isolation at his home in Rye, Australia. Getty

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  Australian Paralympic rower Erik Horrie in his backyard gym in isolation at his home in Sydney, Australia. Getty

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  Judoka Alexander Wieczerzak in the garden of his apartment in Cologne, Germany. Getty

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  Australian rower Georgie Rowe trains in a backyard gym in Sydney. Getty

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  Taekwondo athlete Madeline Folgmann trains with her coach Bjoern Pistel in Nettetal, Germany. Getty

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  AFL player Tim Taranto at his home in Sydney, Australia. Getty

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  Australian Olympic Swimmer Bronte Campbell at her home in Sydney. Getty

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  Water polo player Elle Armit trains in Townsville, Australia. Getty

UFC 249 returns this weekend, and the Bundesliga in Germany is about to make a comeback.

After the long lockdown, sport is at last being given the tentative green light to return in some parts of the world.

The landscape will be different, there will not be any supporters allowed in most venues, and the regulations will be strict.

But it will be a welcome return for fans and for the sports stars.

They have been in limbo, waiting to see when competition returns, and making sure they are in top shape for that day.

Their problem has been access to training facilities. No gyms, no working with coaches, no nutritionists laying on the supplies. So they have had to adapt. And as the pictures show, they have been imaginative at finding solutions.

Garages, gardens, hanging a boat from the roof, even getting the children involved. Many different innovations.

To see the best pictures of athletes training around the world, click on the arrows. Or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.