Covid Knocks US Pole Vaulter Out Of Olympics; Tokyo’s Surge Continues

NPR: U.S. Pole Vaulter Sam Kendricks Out Of Tokyo Olympics Due To Coronavirus
American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks is out of the Tokyo Summer Olympics after testing positive for the coronavirus. Kendricks, a world champion, was considered a medal contender. According to a statement from U.S. Olympic officials, Sam Kendricks is ineligible to compete in the Tokyo Games following his positive test. He's been transferred to a hotel and put in isolation. Kendricks' dad, who's also his coach, said on social media his son feels fine and has no symptoms. Kendricks won the last two World Championships in pole vault and a bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics in 2016. (Goldman, 7/29)

AP: Officials In Tokyo Alarmed As Cases Hit Record Highs
Japanese officials sounded the alarm Thursday as Tokyo reported record-breaking coronavirus cases for the third straight day with the Olympics well underway. “We have never experienced the expansion of the infections of this magnitude,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters. He said the new cases were soaring not only in the Tokyo area but across the country. Tokyo reported 3,865 new cases Thursday, up from 3,177 on Wednesday and double the numbers a week ago, setting an all-time high since the pandemic began early last year. (Yamaguchi, 7/29)

In other health news related to the Olympics —

Bay Area News Group: Biles’ Withdrawal Highlights Extreme Strain On Athletes’ Mental Health, Psychologists Say
“This is someone who is putting well-being in front of everything else,” said Joe Puentes, a Santa Rosa sports psychologist. “Because someone can do superhuman physical things does not mean they aren’t still human.” The Games’ biggest star has found support from fellow Olympians like Katie Ledecky to freely talk about mental issues that for years have been percolating under the surface but seemingly have been exacerbated in the era of the coronavirus. (Almond, 7/28)

CNBC: Simon Biles: Gymnast’s Former Mental Health Trainer Praises Her Exit
Gymnastics superstar and defending Olympic champion Simone Biles decided to withdraw from Thursday’s individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Games to focus on her mental health. Biles shared that she was experiencing a mental issue known as the “twisties.” “They saw it a little bit in practice ... having a little bit of the twisties,” Biles told reporters. (DeCiccio, 7/28)

CBS News: 20 Olympic Athletes Ineligible To Compete After Failing To Meet Anti-Doping Guidelines
Twenty unnamed athletes are ineligible to compete in the Tokyo Olympics after failing to meet anti-doping guidelines, the Athletics Integrity Unit announced Wednesday. The test's results listed Nigeria the most, with 10 competitors unable to represent the country out of the 23 it entered for the Games. Athletes from "Category A" countries — or those considered to be of "the highest doping risk to the sport" — must undergo at least three urine and blood tests without notice to be conducted no less than three weeks apart within the 10 months leading up to a major event to be eligible to compete at the Olympics, according to National Federation Anti-Doping Obligations. In 2021, the Federation identified seven countries as "Category A" nations, including Belarus, Bahrain, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and Ukraine. (Powell, 7/28)

KHN: Olympic Dream Dashed After Bike Crash And Nightmare Medical Bill Over $200K 
It was a race in Pennsylvania that could have sent cyclist Phil Gaimon to the Tokyo Olympics; instead, a serious crash landed the Californian in two hospitals on the East Coast. Gaimon knows accidents are, unfortunately, part of the sport. He had retired from competitive road cycling three years earlier, but a recruiting call came in spring 2019 from a coach of the USA Cycling track team. The coach needed speed for a four-man event. At the time, Gaimon was making a name for himself, and money, by mountain racing, and he was setting records. (Young, 7/29)