Dutch skater Candy Jacobs has tested positive for Covid-19 in Tokyo, ending her Olympic journey, according to a post on her official Instagram account.
Jacobs is the first athlete to announce that she will not be able to participate in the Tokyo Olympics due to the virus after arriving in Tokyo – and other athletes have already tested positive before arriving in Japan and have stopped traveling for the Games.
“I’m heartbroken” Jacobs said in his post. “Unfortunately, I tested [positivo] To Covid-19 this morning, which means my Olympic journey ends here. I did everything in my power to avoid this scenario, and took every precaution.”
“Fortunately, we followed protocols so that my fellow skaters still shine,” Jacobs added. “I’m going to need some time to let my broken heart heal and get over it. Let’s go to Paris 2024.”
It is not clear if Jacobs is staying in the Olympic Village, although messages posted on her Instagram account show videos from the village.
The Tokyo 2020 Games are scheduled to officially begin on Friday (23).
The Czech table tennis player is also out of games
The Czech Olympic Committee said in a statement on Wednesday (21) that Czech table tennis player Pavel Shirocic has also tested positive for the Covid-19 virus in Tokyo and will not be able to compete in the Games.
Shirocek, who will be participating in the Olympics for the first time, is the latest athlete to contract the disease, bringing the total number of cases within the Czech delegation to four.
Beach volleyball player Ondrej Perušic tested positive on Monday (19). He was followed by the coach of the women’s beach volleyball team Simon Nausch on Tuesday (20).
An unnamed employee tested positive after arriving in Tokyo last week.
Czech coach Martin Dr. said he feared this kind of “sports tragedy”.
“Unfortunately, none of us can completely stop the spread of the virus, although we protect ourselves as best we can,” Dr. said in the statement.
The text added that several other Czech athletes who had dealt with those who tested positive were retested. At least two other athletes are awaiting the results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
British scorer outside the games
The British Olympic team announced in a statement on Wednesday (21) that the number 1 British sniper Amber Hill withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics after he tested positive for the Covid-19 virus before heading to Japan.
Hill, who has tested positive for Covid-19 in the UK, was expected to compete in the women’s Olympic skateboarding competition.
The 23-year-old athlete, who was the most experienced athlete on the British shooting team, was a finalist at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“After five years of training and preparation, I am very sad to say that last night I got a positive test result for Covid-19, which means I had to withdraw from the GB shooting team,” Hill said.
“I will be back, but now I need some time to think and understand what happened,” she added.
It was a “very distressing situation,” said shooting team captain Stephen Seligman, adding that the focus now was “ensuring that Amber remains safe and healthy, both physically and mentally.”
A replacement player will not be chosen in place of Hill.
(With information from Chandler ThorntonAnd Ivana Kutsova NS Alex Klusuk, from CNN)
