Running News Daily

British athletes forced to isolate ahead of Olympics after positive Covid case on flight to Tokyo

Six members of Great Britain’s athletics team for the Tokyo Olympics have been forced into isolation after a passenger on their flight to Japan tested positive for coronavirus.

The six athletes, who have not been identified, and two members of staff have been deemed close contacts of the individual in question, who is not from the Team GB delegation.

The group’s flight arrived in Tokyo on Friday and all eight have since tested negative but are isolating at Team GB’s prep camp. The athletics events in Tokyo are scheduled to begin on July 30.

A statement from the British Olympic Association said: “The BOA can confirm that six athletes and two staff members from the athletics team, who through no fault of their own have been identified as close contacts of an individual – not from the Team GB delegation – who tested positive for COVID-19 following their arrival in Tokyo on 16 July 2021.

“This was identified through Tokyo 2020’s reporting service and the group have since started a period of self-isolation in their rooms at the BOA’s Preparation Camp, in line with Tokyo 2020’s Playbook protocols.