Australia's track and field team has been cleared to compete at the Tokyo Olympics after they came into contact with a US pole-vaulter who tested positive for COVID-19.
The team of 63 athletes were placed in lockdown and tested for the virus earlier on Thursday amid fears a number of them interacted with Sam Kendricks, who the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) on Thursday revealed had contracted coronavirus.
"We are saddened to confirm that Sam Kendricks tested positive for COVID-19 and will not compete in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020," the USOPC tweeted.
"In alignment with local rules and protocols, he has been transferred to a hotel to be placed in isolation and is being supported by the USATF and USOPC staff."
It's not clear whether any other US athletes will be impacted by Kendricks' positive result.
However he'd been training alongside Australia's Kurtis Marschall, who has now been deemed a close contact of Kendricks. The rest of Australia's track and field team was isolated as a precaution.
The Australian Olympic Committee says three members of the team - pole vaulters Marschall, Nina Kennedy, and coach Paul Burgess - are subject to stricter protocols since they had close contact with Kendricks.
There were always fears a COVID-19 outbreak could derail the 2020 Olympic Games, which was delayed a year due to the pandemic.
In May, a Japanese poll by conservative newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun found 59 percent of respondents wanted the Tokyo Olympics cancelled as the city was struggling to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases.
