First beach volleyball game canceled after positive COVID test

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TOKYO – The first beach volleyball match at the Tokyo Olympics has been called off after another Czech athlete tested positive for COVID-19.

Markéta Sluková-Nausch and Barbora Hermannová were scheduled to face a Japanese team making their Olympic debut on Saturday morning. But on Thursday, it was announced that Sluková-Nausch had joined six members of the Czech Olympic team to test positive, amid a growing epidemic that has already sparked an investigation by the Czech Olympic Committee (COC) into a charter flight from Prague. in Tokyo. Sluková-Nausch coach and husband Simon Nausch also tested positive.

Vlastimil Voráček, a doctor in the delegation, was the first person on the flight to test positive in Tokyo. Czech media report that he is not vaccinated.

Empty stands are seen during the women's Beach Volleyball C preliminary match between Brazil and Argentina during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Shiokaze Park in Tokyo on July 24, 2021. (Photo by Angela WEISS / AFP) (Photo by Angela WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images)

Empty stands are seen during the women’s Beach Volleyball C preliminary match between Brazil and Argentina during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Shiokaze Park in Tokyo on July 24, 2021. (Photo by Angela WEISS / AFP) (Photo by Angela WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images)

The COC issued a statement on Thursday saying it was “fully aware of the gravity of the situation” and would conduct an investigation, with results expected in 14 days. The investigation will focus specifically on whether all precautions against the spread of COVID-19 have been taken or “whether some people have neglected their responsibilities along the way.”

In a statement from his representative provided to CNN, Sluková-Nausch said, “I know a lot of much worse things are happening in the world right now, but honestly, in our own sporting micro-world, the world we have lived in. and are alive now, it is extremely sad for Bára and I that our trip to Tokyo, the trip that was supposed to be a peak, had to end this way.

Their opponents received the points of the match. A statement provided on-site said all other games would go as planned, including the United States men’s team game, which will feature a last-minute substitution for an American volleyball player who tested positive for COVID-19. .

“The situation is serious, but we have done everything possible since the beginning of this problem to stop the spread,” Czech team chief Martin Doktor said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we did not avoid sports tragedies, I am extremely sorry.”

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