Athletics-Australians isolate themselves after US outfielder Kendricks hit by COVID

TOKYO, July 29 (Reuters) – Two-time US pole vault world champion Sam Kendricks has been banned from the Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19, leading to the isolation of members of the Australian team Thursday.

United States Olympic and athletic officials confirmed Kendricks’ positive test by tweeting: “The health and safety of our athletes, coaches and staff is our top priority.

“In accordance with local rules and protocols, he was transferred to a hotel for isolation and is supported by USATF and USOPC staff.”

The immediate ripple effect was that members of the Australian team were forced to isolate themselves in their rooms as a precaution.

“Members of the Australian track and field team are currently undergoing testing procedures in accordance with Australian Olympic team protocols,” the Australian Olympic Committee said in a statement.

Games procedures state that athletes whose contacts are sought and who have not yet competed are isolated from the rest of the team. They must then be checked six hours before their competition and return a negative result in order to compete.

The track and field program begins on Friday, with the pole vault qualifying event on Saturday.

Australian media reported that all 63 team members were in isolation after pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall trained with Kendricks. .

Kendricks won the world title in 2017 and 2019 and Olympic bronze in Rio 2016 and his battle with world record holder Mondo Duplantis from Sweden should have been one of the highlights of the athletics program.

“Sam is an incredible and accomplished member of Team USA and his presence will be missed. Out of respect for his privacy, we cannot provide more information at this time,” the US Olympic Committee tweeted.

United States Athletics (USATF) said Kendricks and his close contacts were immediately notified and protocols were activated to isolate him.

“We are following instructions on the next steps to ensure the safety of the rest of our delegation and offer our support to Sam,” the USATF tweeted.

Reporting by Mitch Phillips, Omar Mohammed; Editing by Kenneth & Shri Navaratnam

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