Stomach bug forces Isaac Makwala out of 400 final

The stomach bug at the world championships has forced medal favorite Isaac Makwala out of yesterday’s 400-meter final.

The virus hit about 30 athletes and staff staying at one of the official hotels. Nine people were still being affected, according to the IAAF.

Makwala was expected to be the main challenger to Wayde van Niekerk at both 200 and 400 meters.

He pulled out of the 200 heats on Monday and only has Botswana’s 4x400 relay to come this weekend.

Earlier Tuesday, Makwala posted on Facebook that he was feeling well. But about five hours before Tuesday’s 400-meter final, the IAAF announced he was out of the race.

The IAAF said Makwala was out of the final “due to a medical condition on the instruction of the IAAF Medical Delegate.” It is based on a rule which says that the IAAF doctor “shall have ultimate authority on all medical matters.”

Ireland’s 400m hurdler Thomas Barr was also forced out of his semifinals on Monday.

“I wasn’t feeling great yesterday evening and later in the night I was hit with a bad bout of gastroenteritis,” Barr said in an Athletics Ireland statement.

Several Botswana, German, Canadian, Irish and Puerto Rican athletes staying at the hotel have been taken ill over the last few days, with some put into effective quarantine and others forced to miss their events.

Public health officials said yesterday laboratory tests had confirmed two cases of norovirus among approximately 30 victims.

Hotel says it’s not to blame for athletes’ stomach bug

The London hotel at the center of an outbreak of sickness that has struck down scores of competitors at the World Athletics Championships said on Tuesday it was not the source of the illness.

Several Botswana, German, Canadian, Irish and Puerto Rican athletes staying at the Tower Hotel, near Tower Bridge, have been taken ill over the last few days, with some put into effective quarantine and others forced to miss their events.

The victims included Botswana’s Isaac Makwala, who was ordered by the global athletics body, IAAF, to withdraw from yesterday evening’s 400 meters final, where he had expected to be the lead challenger to world record holder Wayde van Niekerk.

Thirty German competitors arriving on Tuesday, as well as Olympic javelin champion Thomas Rohler who arrived on Monday, have been moved to other hotels.

“It is purely a precautionary measure,” German team spokesman Peter Schmitt said.

Competition organisers said on Monday that the illnesses were a result of gastroenteritis, but public health officials said on Tuesday that laboratory tests have confirmed two cases of norovirus among approximately 30 illness victims.

Norovirus, sometimes called “the winter vomiting bug,” is easily spread, partly because the virus can survive for several days outside the body, Britain’s National Health Service says.

“The main issue facing the organizers will be one of trying to attain swift containment, which will be pretty challenging due to the nature of the virus,” Shirley Kirnon, a lecturer in Infection Control at Birmingham City University, said.

“It is highly infectious. For those affected, symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea can occur within a relatively short period of time; approximately 12-48 hours after exposure.”

Tower Hotel, used annually as the base for the London Marathon, said in a statement: “We have worked collaboratively with the EHO (Environmental Health Officer) and the IAAF to investigate the origins of the illness and can confirm that 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.”

London 2017 organisers said on Monday night that a number of teams had reported cases of gastroenteritis.

“Those affected have been supported by both team and LOC medical staff, in addition we have been working with Public Health England to ensure the situation is managed and contained,” the organizing committee said in a statement.

At least seven Canadians were affected, including Eric Gillis, who was forced to drop out of Sunday’s marathon after around 20 miles.

“I was one of the athletes in quarantine,” Canadian sprinter Aaron Brown said. “I was in my room the entire day in the dark. I was like a vampire. I was holding my stomach the entire night.”

Brown recovered well enough to race in Monday’s 200m heats and ran an impressive 20.08 seconds, only to be disqualified for a lane violation.

Olympic champion Elaine Thompson was also physically sick before the 100 meters final on Sunday, though the Jamaican said that was not unusual for her and hadn’t had any effect on her below-par performance. She finished fifth.