New coronavirus scare causes jitters on eve of Tokyo Olympics athletics

TOKYO:

Australia’s track and field team was briefly placed in isolation on Thursday as a coronavirus scare caused fresh jitters on the eve of the Tokyo Olympics athletics programme.

Nearly 60 athletes and staff were confined to their rooms for more than two hours after US pole vault world champion Sam Kendricks tested positive for Covid-19.

All were later released apart from three close contacts of Kendricks, who have tested negative but remain in isolation and will be tested daily.

The incident was a jolting reminder of the perils facing athletes at the Tokyo Games, where their Olympic dreams are at risk of being dashed at any moment.

“Members of the Australian track and field team in the Tokyo Olympic Village have been cleared to return to their regular routines,” the Australian Olympic Committee said in a statement.

“The all-clear comes after three members of the team underwent PCR testing following a brief casual contact with a US track and field athlete who had tested positive to Covid-19.”

Kendricks earlier became the latest highprofile withdrawal from the Olympics after testing positive for the virus.

“We are saddened to confirm that Sam Kendricks tested positive for Covid-19 and will not compete in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee said on Twitter.

Organisers announced a daily record of 24 new Games-related cases on Thursday, three of whom are athletes, taking the overall number of positive cases to 193.

The figures do not include all cases at airports and in training camps.