U.S. track and field athletes focused on minimizing risk after team loses another potential medalist
TOKYO — With the Olympic track and field competitions starting Friday, the U.S. team approaches the starting line with another blow to its medal chances.
Two-time world champion pole vaulter Sam Kendricks tested positive for COVID-19 and has withdrawn from the Tokyo Olympics, officials confirmed. Kendricks won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Games.
It's more bad news for the U.S. Olympic track and field team, which lost two-time Olympic gold medalist Christian Taylor to a ruptured Achilles in May. Taylor was expected to be a favorite in the men’s triple jump.
The team took another hit in late June when Sha’Carri Richardson announced she had tested positive for marijuana, a banned substance in competition. Richardson was primed to be a star in Tokyo, winning the women’s 100 meters easily at the U.S. Olympic trials in June. She served a month-long suspension and will also miss the Olympics.
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Athletes training Thursday at the Olympic Stadium said they were focused on staying healthy. After word of Kendricks' withdrawal spread, three members of the Australian track and field team went into a temporary lockdown because of concerns about contact tracing.
The Olympics set a single-day high for coronavirus cases with organizers announcing 24 new positives on Thursday. Three athletes were among the new cases. Since July 1, 193 people – including 20 athletes – have tested positive, according to organizers.
“Everybody has kind of the same mindset going in, just making sure we’re doing everything we can to stay safe. It’s about protecting ourselves, our teammates and everybody else,” U.S. women’s 400-meter hurdles runner Sydney McLaughlin said.
U.S. men’s shot putter Ryan Crouser admitted that the swirling specter of coronavirus has him slightly stressed but he is doing everything he can to stay safe.
“I feel safe with the protocols that we have in place. It’s very strict," Crouser said, adding that he's vaccinated and wears a mask wherever possible.
"The thought that getting COVID at the Olympics is slightly stressful, but I’m treating it as if I do everything I can to minimize my exposure, and if I do get COVID-19 that’s extremely unfortunate," he said. "I know the International Olympic Committee, the Olympics and the Olympic Village is doing everything to minimize it; I’m going with the mindset that it’s beyond my control if I do get it."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Team USA focused on minimizing COVID-19 risk at Tokyo Olympics
