Page Nav

HIDE

Pages

Classic Header

{fbt_classic_header}

Breaking News:

latest

US women’s gymnastics team member tests positive for coronavirus while training four days before Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony

  An alternate on the US women's gymnastics team has tested positive for COVID-19 while training for the 2021 Summer Olympics in Japan. ...

 An alternate on the US women's gymnastics team has tested positive for COVID-19 while training for the 2021 Summer Olympics in Japan. 

18-year-old Kara Eaker is understood to have tested positive on Monday, having traveled to Tokyo with three other alternates and the six main athletes who are expected to compete in the Games, including defending champion Simone Biles. 

The news of her positive test was initially reported by Japanese officials on Monday morning, however they refused to name the athlete. She has since been identified by her coach, Al Fong, while USA Gymnastics confirmed that one of its alternate athletes had been infected and was quarantining in a local hotel.   


Simone, 24, and the other five women chosen to compete for Team USA at the Olympics - Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Mykayla Skinner, Jade Carey, and Grace McCallum - are not understood to have come into contact with Kara, who has been training separately from the main squad alongside the other three alternates.   

Four alternates were chosen to travel with Team USA's six-woman gymnastics squad; as well as Kara, Kayla DiCello, 17, Emma Malabuyo, 18, and Leanne Wong, 17, are all currently present in Narita, which is where the team has been training.   

'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 US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a statement on Monday.  

A member of the US women's gymnastics team has tested positive for COVID-19, Japanese officials have confirmed. The athlete, aged between 10 and 19, is an alternate on the team 

Simone Biles and the five other athletes who are expected to compete in Tokyo (pictured) are not understood to have been in close contact with the infected athlete

Simone Biles and the five other athletes who are expected to compete in Tokyo (pictured) are not understood to have been in close contact with the infected athlete

The four alternates (pictured) who traveled to Tokyo with the six main gymnastics team members have been training and rooming separately from Simone, 24, and her teammates

The four alternates (pictured) who traveled to Tokyo with the six main gymnastics team members have been training and rooming separately from Simone, 24, and her teammates

Last week, USA Gymnastics revealed that the four replacement athletes for the women's team would be separated from the six gymnasts who are expected to compete in Tokyo - suggesting that Simone, 24, and her teammates may not have come into close contact with the person who has tested positive. 

The team's four alternates were also rooming together.  

According to NBC, one other gymnast - also understood to be an alternate - has been identified as a 'close contact' of the infected athlete, and has been placed 'on standby'.  

Over the weekend, the women's gymnastics team dealt with what USA Gymnastics called a 'false positive' for an unidentified athlete but the ensuing test results for the athlete were negative, according to the organization. 

Biles, the defending world and Olympic champion, and the rest of the regular team have all been vaccinated, however it is unknown whether all four alternates have received their shots. Athletes were not required to have received the COVID vaccination in order to travel to Tokyo for the Olympics. 

The women's gymnastics team arrived in Japan on July 15 ahead of Friday's opening ceremony in Tokyo.  

The athletes stayed in their rooms and practiced in venues but did not spend time in the city of Narita, NBC News reports.

No other details on her condition are available.  


Four traveling alternates were selected for the ten-woman gymnastics squad, including 18-year-old Kara Eaker (pictured)

Four traveling alternates were selected for the ten-woman gymnastics squad, including 18-year-old Kara Eaker (pictured)

All four alternates, including Kayla DiCello (pictured) and Emma Malabuyo, have been training separately from Simone Biles and her five teammates, USAG revealed last week
All four alternates, including Kayla DiCello and Emma Malabuyo (pictured), have been training separately from Simone Biles and her five teammates, USAG revealed last week

All four alternates, including Kayla DiCello (left) and Emma Malabuyo (right), have been training separately from Simone Biles and her five teammates, USAG revealed last week 

It's been reported that another team member, likely an alternate, has been in 'close contact' with the infected athlete and has been placed 'on standby'. Alternate Leanne Wong is pictured

It's been reported that another team member, likely an alternate, has been in 'close contact' with the infected athlete and has been placed 'on standby'. Alternate Leanne Wong is pictured

Over the weekend, a visitor involved in organizing the games tested positive at the athletes' village in Tokyo, becoming the 15th person connected to the games to have tested positive for COVID-19 since July 1.

He was taken to a separate hotel to isolate for 14 days. 

The 2020 Summer Olympics are carrying on after being postponed last year due to the pandemic. 

‘We promised the world we would deliver the games,’ said former Olympian and 2021 Games organizer Seiko Hashimoto. 

‘We have a global challenge, we cannot postpone solving the issues - we have the responsibility to contribute to the solution. We have to complete our mission.’ 

On Monday, Simone and her teammates, Grace, Jordan, Suni, and Mykayla, were all posting images and videos from the Olympic Village on their Instagram accounts, in which the six athletes are seen seen wearing face masks and matching Team USA T-shirts while walking around the site. 

None of the four alternates have posted any social media content from the Olympic Village.  

Simone and her teammate Jordan were seen posing in front of the Olympic rings on Monday, as the news about the positive test result was revealed

Simone and her teammate Jordan were seen posing in front of the Olympic rings on Monday, as the news about the positive test result was revealed 

Jordan was also seen posing alongside Grace, Mykayla, and Suni, in the same spot, while flashing their Olympic credentials

Jordan was also seen posing alongside Grace, Mykayla, and Suni, in the same spot, while flashing their Olympic credentials 

Guards block a road leading into the Tokyo Olympics athletes' village on July 19 after two South African football players tested positive for COVID-19 inside

Guards block a road leading into the Tokyo Olympics athletes' village on July 19 after two South African football players tested positive for COVID-19 inside

The news of the unnamed gymnast's positive COVID tests comes amid growing fears about the safety of this year's Olympics - which are going ahead despite increasing case numbers across the globe and spikes of the Delta variant. 

Olympic organizers have faced furious backlash from locals in Japan - which is currently suffering a fifth wave of increased COVID infections, prompting a state of emergency to be declared in the capital. 

That state of emergency is due to remain in place throughout the Olympic Games. 

This means that the majority of athletes at the Olympics, which was postponed by a year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, will perform in front of empty stadiums, with no crowds present - after large gatherings were banned in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus.   

In the days since athletes and their coaches began arriving at the Olympic Village, there have been multiple infections reported, with the US gymnastics team becoming the latest in a growing line of squads to suffer a positive test result. 

The infection - a coach traveling with Uganda's squad - was reported on June 20 when the team arrived at Narita airport, and since then, there have been more than a dozen cases among athletes and staff.  

On Sunday, 17-year-old tennis star Coco Gauff confirmed on social media that she would not be able to represent Team USA in the Tokyo Games, saying: 'I am so disappointed to share the news that I have tested positive for COVID and won't be able to play in the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

'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.

'I want to wish TEAM USA best of luck and a safe games for every Olympian and the entire Olympic family.' 

No comments