When the 2020 Tokyo Olympics kicked off in the summer of 2021 after being postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, there was regular testing, mask wearing and a ban on spectators. Three years later, it’s a very different scene at the 2024 Paris Olympics . According to a Wednesday, August 7, Washington Post piece, at least 40 athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Paris Games thus far, but there is no rule barring said athletes from continuing to train and compete.
Late last month, Australian swimmer Lani Pallister was cleared to return to the pool one day after she tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrew from the women’s 1500m freestyle event Her decision to sit out the 1500m freestyle wasn’t based on Olympic guidelines, but a desire to “save her energy” for the 4x200m freestyle relay that took place two days later, the Australian Olympic Committee announced via social media. Pallister’s COVID-19 case came days after five members of Australia’s women’s water polo team tested positive for the virus. “We treat COVID no differently to any other respiratory illness, but we want to ensure that we have our protocols working as well.
Dealing with these illnesses and minimizing them is a part and parcel of every Olympic Games,” Australian chef de mission Anna Meares said during a press conference last month. Meares added that the water polo athletes would continue to practice with protocols in place. “They have been wearing their masks, they a.
