U.S. Olympic gymnast tests positive for COVID-19 in Japan

A female gymnast from the United States has tested positive for coronavirus, an official in the city where the team has been staying to train said on Monday. The official in Inzai, just east of Tokyo, said that the gymnast was in her teens and that they'd determined she had one close contact, but declined to give more information, including whether the gymnast was on the main team or an alternate.


Reuters | Updated: 19-07-2021 17:48 IST | Created: 19-07-2021 17:20 IST
U.S. Olympic gymnast tests positive for COVID-19 in Japan
Representative image Image Credit: ANI
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A female gymnast from the United States has tested positive for coronavirus, an official in the city where the team has been staying to train said on Monday.

The official in Inzai, just east of Tokyo, said that the gymnast was in her teens and that they'd determined she had one close contact, but declined to give more information, including whether the gymnast was on the main team or an alternate. Simone Biles, currently dominant in women's gymnastics, is 24. The two teenage members of the U.S. team are Sunisa Lee and Grace McCallum, both 18.

All four of the alternates, selected in case one of the main team members tested positive, are in their teens. Sunisa Lee late on Monday posted a video on Instagram showing her and three team members smiling and waving their accreditation, with the caption "Tokyo bound." Still later, she posted a photo showing her and the others standing in front of the Olympic Village.

Multiple Japanese media reports said that a simple saliva screening test had flagged the athlete concerned as a suspected positive on Sunday, and it was confirmed with a more detailed PCR test on Monday. They added that this person and one close contact were remaining at the hotel in the city where they trained, while the team taking part in the competition had moved to Tokyo.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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