Extra steps taken for EJ as COVID hits vaulters

EJ Obiena has a health security blanket around him ahead of athletics action. —PHOTO
FROM EJ OBIENA INSTAGRAM

TOKYO—After having breakfast at Conrad Hotel here, Emerson Obiena, the former national team standout and father of Filipino Olympian EJ Obiena told reporters that their team decided it would no longer be transferring to the Athletes’ Village.

That decision may have been merely fortuitous. The other extra steps the team will undertake to protect itself will be a little more intentional.

Terry Capistrano, the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association secretary general who has been designated team leader of the athletics team in the Tokyo Olympics here, has put Obiena and the rest of the squad under heightened precautions after two pole vaulters, including a gold medal prospect Sam Kendricks of the United States, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

“We’re taking a lot of extra precautions now,” Capistrano said. “We’re bringing our own alcohol to Edogawa Stadium, where EJ practices, and we are the ones who wipe down whatever surfaces he will be in contact with. We can never be too careful anymore.”

Capistrano said he hired a van for the team and won’t let Obiena ride the athletes’ bus or the taxis designated as official transport vehicles of the Games.

The team had earlier decided to remain in Conrad Hotel for the rest of the Games instead of sticking to an original plan to transfer to the Athletes’ Village.

“We’re lucky we decided to stay here,” Capistrano said, explaining that it minimizes the risk of exposure.

The latest development that has left some of the top pole vaulters “spooked.” Apart from Kendricks, the world No. 2, German Chiaraviglio of Argentina has also been removed from the start list.

The immediate knock-on effect was that members of the Australian team were forced to isolate in their rooms as a precaution, but resumed normal activities later on Thursday after negative tests were confirmed.

Swedish world record-holder Armand Duplantis told reporters at a press conference on Thursday that he had not been in contact with his American rival Kendricks.

“I have been super lucky just not to have come into contact with him,” he said. “All the pole vaulters are pretty spooked out right now.”

Duplantis told reporters that he had plans to meet up with Kendricks on Wednesday but that didn’t happen.

“So that was a pretty lucky dodge right there,” he said.

United States Olympic and athletics officials confirmed on Thursday that Kendricks, a double world champion, had tested positive, tweeting: “The health and safety of our athletes, coaches and staff is our top priority. “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 (USA Track and Field and USOPC (US Olympic and Paralympic Committee) staff.”

“We are all pretty spooked out right now,” he said. “It’s been a weird hour for sure.”

Argentina’s Chiaraviglio, the world No. 25, confirmed on social media that he was out of the Games as well, and was isolating in a hotel.

“It is very hard to process something like that, it will take me a long time,” he wrote, via a translation. “Living through this is very hard, but I know that this will also pass.”

Chiaraviglio said he had a positive saliva test but negative polymerase chain reaction test after he arrived in Japan, for three days. On Wednesday, however, both tests—saliva and nasal—came back positive.

“That’s when I knew it was all over,” he wrote.

Games procedures state that athletes who are contact-traced and have not yet competed are isolated from the rest of the squad. They then have to be tested six hours prior to their competition and return a negative result in order to compete. The athletics program begins on Friday, with the pole vault qualifying event on Saturday.

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

“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 US Olympic Committee tweeted.

USATF said 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,” USATF tweeted.