A U.S. gymnast has tested positive for COVID-19 days ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
An alternate on the U.S. women’s gymnastics team tested positive for COVID-19 while training for the Olympics in Narita, NBC News reported. The gymnast wasn’t identified, but they’re reportedly between the ages of 10 and 19. This was the first confirmed case of COVID-19 among the American athletes who traveled to Tokyo for the Olympics, The Washington Post notes.
“We can confirm that an alternate on the women’s artistic gymnastics team tested positive for COVID-19,” the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said, per USA Today. “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.”
Another team member was reportedly placed “on standby” after having been a “close contact” of the alternate, NBC reports. Officials said “the athlete had only moved between her hotel and a training facility in the city,” Bloomberg writes.
This comes just days before the Tokyo Olympics are set to commence and after tennis player Coco Gauff was forced to withdraw from the games due to a positive COVID-19 test.
“It has always been a dream of mine to represent the USA at the Olympics, and I hope there will be many more chances for me to make this come true in the future,” Gauff said Sunday.
Additionally, an organizer of the games previously tested positive for COVID-19, as did members of Team South Africa. Plans to go forward with the Olympics amid the pandemic faced opposition in Japan over the past few months, and after a new COVID-19 state of emergency was imposed, all spectators were banned from the games. The Olympics will kick off on Friday.
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