Tokyo 2020: US’ Sam Kendricks out of Games after positive Covid test

World pole vault champion and Rio bronze medallist Sam Kendricks has tested positive for Covid-19, and has withdrawn from the Tokyo Games.

Three Australian athletes who reported close contact with Kendricks are now isolating, although they have all returned negative PCR tests. They will be allowed to continue training, subject to strict protocols restricting their contact with others.

A further 41 athletes and 13 officials briefly isolated in their rooms as a precaution, but have now been cleared to return to their regular routines.

Kendricks won the world title in 2017 and 2019 and Olympic bronze in Rio 2016 and his battle with world record holder Mondo Duplantis of Sweden was expected to have been one of the highlights of the track and field programme.

“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 United States Olympic Committee tweeted.

All members of the Australian Team at the Tokyo Games are tested daily

– Australian Olympic Committee

United States Track and Field (USATF) said that Kendricks and his close contacts were immediately notified and protocols were activated to isolate him: “We are following the guidance on next steps to ensure the safety of the remainder of our delegation, and to offer support to Sam.”

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) issued a statement, which said: “All three tested negative after undergoing a PCR Test this afternoon, while teammates remained in their rooms in line with AOC Covid protocols.

“The three, who are all vaccinated, self-reported once they heard news of the US athlete testing positive late this morning. All daily tests of the trio in the village had also returned negative results. All members of the Australian Team at the Tokyo Games are tested daily.”

Games procedures state that athletes who are contact-traced and have not yet competed are isolated from the rest of the squad. They must be tested six hours prior to the competition and return a negative result in order to compete.

The track and field competition gets underway on Friday – the AOC said that, at this stage, it expected all athletes to compete as planned.

The Argentine pole vaulter German Chiaraviglio has also tested positive for the virus and been ruled out of the Games.

At the time of writing, there have now been 198 cases among Olympic personnel, including 20 athletes.