Athletes ailing as stomach bug overruns hotel

LONDON Canada is moving some of its athletes into new accommodations at the world track and field championships to avoid a stomach bug.

Athletes still to arrive in town will stay at a different hotel than the one in central London, where nine Canadian athletes and staff members have become ill, Canadian team doctor Paddy McCluskey said Tuesday. Several Canadian athletes have been moved to higher floors in the hotel.

“We’ve been able to accommodate that for not everyone, but for a number of people,” McCluskey said of moving to higher rooms. “Unfortunately, the hotel has a limited number of beds available, there’s over 900 guests here … and so the logistics are that they’re running out of space in general.”

Canadian Eric Gillis dropped out of Sunday’s marathon a couple days after falling ill, and sprinter Aaron Brown said he’d been quarantined after catching the norovirus, which causes vomiting, diarrhea, a lowgrade fever and abdominal pain.

“The last two days have been better for us in terms of new cases, so I’m really hopeful we’re coming out the other end,” McCluskey said. “You always have to be really diligent about these kinds of things, maintain strict hand washing.

“I’m really hopeful that we’re through the worst of it.”

An estimated 30 people from several teams including Canada, Germany, Ireland and Botswana, who are staying at the Tower Hotel have been ill. The Canadian team’s floors have been hit particularly hard.

Tower Hotel said in a statement: “We have worked collaboratively with the (environmental health officer) and the IAAF to investigate the origins of the illness and can confirm the hotel was not the source. We have followed strict hygiene protocol, ensuring that those affected are not in contact with other guests and all public areas have been thoroughly sanitized.”