IT’S FLIPPIN’ CRAZY
Vaxxed U.S. gymnast sees Olympic dream crushed with positive COVID test
An alternate on the U.S. women’s gymnastics team headed to the Olympics has tested positive for COVID-19, officials announced Monday.
Kara Eaker, 18, was training in Narita, about 35 miles outside of Tokyo. She is vaccinated and asymptomatic, her father said.
“The health and safety of our athletes, coaches and staff is our top priority. We can confirm that an alternate on the women’s artistic gymnastics team tested positive for COVID-19,” the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which did not identify Eaker, said in a statement.
“In alignment with local rules and protocols, the athlete has been transferred to a hotel to quarantine. Out of respect for the individual’s privacy, we cannot provide more information at this time.”
The alternates, Eaker, Leanne Wong, Kayla DiCello and Emma Malabuyo, traveled with the team to Tokyo, but have been rooming and training separately. Wong has also gone into isolation for exposure to Eaker.
“I know she’s disappointed, but at this point she says she’s kind of bored because she’s stuck in her room not being able to do anything, can’t practice or anything like that. She says she’s bored and just looking forward to coming home,” Eaker’s father, Mark, told KMBC. “The biggest disappointment is that this takes her out of it completely.”
The news comes just a day after U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff pulled out of the Olympics after testing positive, saying she was “so disappointed.”
The International Olympic Committee has been under fire for months for pushing ahead with the Games as COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket in Tokyo. All spectators have already been banned from attending events.
The positive test came after Eaker received what was described as a “false positive” over the weekend. Eaker took a subsequent test that was negative before testing positive again multiple times.
“Kara is s doing very well with no symptoms,” Karla Grimes, who works at GAGE Center, the gym in the Kansas City suburbs where Eaker trains, said in an email to the AP. “She is incredibly strong and very brave. Although this is a very disappointing outcome for her, she wants everyone to know she is OK.”
The rest of the regular team has been vaccinated. The Games open Friday and the women’s gymnastics team begins competing Sunday.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Monday reported 727 new cases in the capital. It is the 30th straight day that cases were higher than the previous week. The cases last Monday were 502.