An alternate on the United States women’s gymnastics team has tested positive for COVID-19 in an Olympic training camp in Japan.
Olympic champion Simone Biles was not affected, nor were any of the other favourites to win the team gold, but another alternate was placed into isolation because of contact tracing, USA Gymnastics said Monday.
“One of the replacement athletes for the women’s artistic gymnastics team received a positive COVID test on Sunday, July 18. After reviewing the implemented COVID protocols with members of the delegation, the local government determined that the affected replacement athlete and one other replacement athlete would be subject to additional quarantine restrictions,” the USAG statement said. “Accordingly, on Monday, the Olympic athletes moved to separate lodging accommodations and a separate training facility, as originally planned, and will continue their preparation for the Games. The entire delegation continues to be vigilant and will maintain strict protocols while they are in Tokyo.”
The positive test was the latest in a growing line of daily reports of athletes and others testing positive at the pandemic-delayed Olympics. The unnamed gymnast was the first American.
The four alternates — Leanne Wong, Kayla DiCello, Emma Malabuyo and Kara Eaker — travelled to Japan with the six-woman U.S. delegation of Biles, Jordan Chiles, Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee, MyKayla Skinner and Jade Carey.
The alternates are rooming and training together. While they have been travelling to training along with the actual team, they have been split into groups, with the team working on one apparatus while the alternates work on another.
Find live streams, must-watch video highlights, breaking news and more in one perfect Olympic Games package. Following Team Canada has never been easier or more exciting.
The U.S. women’s team dealt with what USA Gymnastics called a “false positive” over the weekend for an unidentified athlete but the ensuing test results for the athlete were negative, according to the organization.
Biles, who is also the world champion, and the rest of the regular team have been vaccinated.
The Games are set to open on Friday with a state of emergency in force in Tokyo, which means almost all venues will be without any fans as new cases rise in the capital. The women’s gymnastic team begins competing on Sunday.
The U.S. officials said the test took place when the team was training just outside Tokyo in Inzai City. Team members arrived last week for the camp to great fanfare at Narita airport.
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.
3 Olympic athletes test positive in Tokyo days before Games
A third athlete at the Olympic Village in Tokyo has tested positive for COVID-19, with the Czech Republic team reporting the case Monday of a beach volleyball player who could miss his first game.
The positive case of an American gymnast, who was not identified and is an alternate on the women’s team, also was confirmed by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Czech beach volleyball player Ondrej Perusic could miss his opening game on Monday after a PCR test confirmed his infection. Perusic and his playing partner are due to the begin their Olympic program against a team from Latvia.
Czech team leader Martin Doktor said in a statement they would ask to postpone the game until the infected player is cleared to play.
Perusic, who said he has been vaccinated, is the second member of the Czech delegation to test positive in Tokyo after a team official’s case was reported Saturday.
He is the third athlete who was staying at the village to test positive. Two South African men’s soccer players had their COVID-19 cases announced Sunday.
Their 21 close contacts around the South Africa team now face extra scrutiny before their first game Thursday against Japan in Tokyo. The monitoring regime includes daily testing, traveling in a dedicated vehicle, training separately from teammates not affected and being confined to their rooms for meals.
“Although you are a close contact, you are able to do the minimum that you need to do so that you can continue your preparation for the Games while you are being monitored,” said Pierre Ducrey, the Olympic Games operations director.
Earlier Monday, before the Czech case was reported, Tokyo Olympic organizers confirmed three new COVID-19 cases, including a media worker arriving in Tokyo and a Games staffer or official in the Chiba prefecture.
Both people, who were not identified, went into a 14-day quarantine, organizers said.
The total of Games-related infections was officially 58 since July 1 before the two new cases were announced. They should be added to the official tally on Tuesday.
These resulted from 22,000 people arriving in Japan since July 1 with 4,000 of those staying in the village, Ducrey said. About 11,000 athletes are scheduled to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
More Stories
It’s ‘a labour of love’ on and off the rink as Ontario roller derby team preps for playoffs in U.S. | CBC News
FIBA Men’s 3X3 Basketball World Tour: DAY 2 – Utsunomiya
CBC Sports Late Night: 2024 Athletics Wanda Diamond League – Shanghai – Suzhou