American volleyball player Taylor Crabb tested positive for Covid at the Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO – A beach volleyball player’s dream of competing in the Tokyo Olympics for the United States was dashed after testing positive for Covid-19, NBC News confirmed on Wednesday.

Taylor Crabb is the first U.S. team athlete to test positive who was supposed to compete in the games.

Earlier this week, a substitute for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team named Kara Eaker also tested positive and she and another substitute, Leanne Wong, were placed in quarantine.

Word of Crabb’s diagnosis came on the same day that competition at the Olympics, which officially begins on Friday, kicked off with host Japan defeating Australia 8-1 in women’s softball.

Crabb’s infection was detected over the weekend shortly after arriving in the country and he may return home to Hawaii soon.

His brother Trevor Crabb, who is also a professional beach volleyball player, called the situation “terrible”.

Crabb is “well and healthy and should be allowed to play, in my opinion,” Trever Crabb told the NBC News affiliate in Los Angeles.

Crabb, who is 29, and his 45-year-old teammate Jake Gibb were scheduled to face two Italians in a preliminary match on Sunday at Shiokaze Park, which is next to Tokyo Bay.

Tri Bourne, another notable beach volleyball player, was due to replace Crabb, The Orange County Register reported.

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Crabb was a controversial choice to represent the United States. He was suspended for two years in 2017 by USA Volleyball, which is the sport’s governing body, for drinking with an underage girl and other misconduct, the Southern California News Group reported.

That Crabb is even in Japan is only thanks to a referee who reduced his second suspension in 2019 for breaking the terms of his first suspension by coaching in a girls’ volleyball camp, SCNG reported.

So far, nearly 80 people linked to the Olympics, including half a dozen athletes, have tested positive for Covid-19, according to a tally compiled by Reuters.

Earlier this month, as the number of Covid-19 cases rose and much of the Japanese public opposed the hosting of the games in Tokyo, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga ordered the state of emergency and prohibits fans from watching the games live.

“With the number of newly infected people in Tokyo reaching 1,832 today, the infection rate continues to increase significantly in surrounding areas and including the metropolitan city of Tokyo,” Suga said Wednesday after a meeting. of the cabinet.

“Tomorrow will mark the start of a four-day weekend and the Olympic Games will finally begin,” he said. “I ask the audience to stay with their families and cheer on the athletes on TV from their homes.”