Some Olympians test positive for COVID, but it’s business as usual for many athletes

Simone Biles isn’t the only one making a comeback at the 2024 Olympics. COVID-19, the virus behind the pandemic that led to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics being postponed to 2021, is once again infecting athletes and influencing athletic performance.

But COVID’s impact seems to have dropped significantly since Tokyo.

The Paris Olympics continue to operate normally — spectators gather in the stands, and athletes congregate freely at mealtime.

But a closer look shows masks are slowly popping up on athletes, and a few faces are missing from the start lines.

Some athletes compete, others withdraw

More than a dozen athletes in Paris have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, including British swimmer Adam Peaty, who tested positive on Sunday evening after winning silver in the 100m breaststroke, the Guardian reported Tuesday.

Another swimmer, Australia’s Lani Pallister, withdrew from the 1500m freestyle on Tuesday after a positive COVID test.

Since athletes who test positive are still allowed to compete in Paris, it was decided that Pallister would rest and prepare for the 4x200m freestyle, according to the Australian Olympic Committee. That decision paid off when the team won gold in the event on Thursday. 

But another athlete’s 2024 Olympic dreams were crushed altogether.

German decathlete Manuel Eitel made a statement on Instagram about withdrawing from the Paris Olympics due to a COVID infection.

“Today is and will be one of the worst days of my life,” he said in a post written in German. 

“How many times I’ve fought, how hard I’ve worked to earn these games, few people know.”

Rules and protocols in Paris 

There are limited protocols and restrictions in place at the Olympics, Reuters reported on Tuesday. 

“We have a protocol [that] any athlete that has tested positive has to wear a mask, and we remind everyone to follow best practices,” said Anne Descamps, Paris 2024 chief communications director. 

Beyond those protocols, individual athletes and their countries have been left to make their own decisions about preventing and dealing with the virus. 

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Some countries have taken COVID prevention into their own hands.

Team Great Britain has been seen wearing masks between events, and Canada has continued to implement pandemic-era protocols including hand washing and sanitation, Reuters reported. Canada’s chief medical officer Mike Wilkinson said they also have isolation protocols for anyone who does get sick.

For athletes that have tested positive, the decision about whether to compete can be a complex one, said Dr. Alexandra Rendely, a staff physician in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University Health Network’s (UHN) Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

“It’s going to be up to each individual competitor and their medical staff for that country to determine if the symptoms they have are compatible with allowing them to compete, both at their highest degree of competition, but also from a safety standpoint,” she said.

Rendely gave the example of a swimmer, where shortness of breath or a cough, both symptoms of COVID, can change an athlete’s breathing patterns. She also noted that these symptoms, along with muscle aches and fever, can change the speed at which athletes use their arms and legs.

Tokyo’s strict approach

The previous games were completely transformed from the status quo. 

After the Tokyo Games were delayed a year due to the pandemic, strict regulations banned spectators from attending, and any athlete that tested positive had to immediately self-isolate and was not allowed to compete.

Masking, social distancing and regular testing were also required.

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Some members of Canada’s Olympic delegation were placed under COVID-19 protocols upon arrival in Beijing. These protocols are strict — with Chinese officials hoping to keep COVID-19 out of the Olympics just days before it begins.

“For good reason, COVID is less on our radar than it was two years ago, three years ago,” said Dr. Alon Vaisman, an infectious diseases and infection control physician at UHN.

Vaisman said both the virus and what we know about treating it have changed.

While some athletes might be able to physically compete while infected with COVID, the question remains: should they?

Many Olympic events involve close contact with other people, meaning there’s an increased risk of transmission between athletes. Vaisman says athletes shouldn’t be taking part in events while experiencing symptoms like a cough or runny nose.

“That’s more like a moral responsibility, more than anything,” he said.