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First German COVID case at Tokyo Olympics

July 25, 2021

German cyclist Simon Geschke will miss out on the road race after testing positive for coronavirus at the Olympics. The first positive test on the German team coincided with the opening ceremony.

Simon Geschke, pictured at the 2021 Tour de France.
Simon Geschke said he was disappointed but glad those around him tested negativeImage: Roth/picture alliance

Geschke: COVID infection 'a big blow'

04:22

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The German Olympic Sports Confederation on Friday said Simon Geschke will now have to isolate under the strict Olympic health regulations after testing positive.

Geschke will have to withdraw from the Mount Fuji road race this Saturday. 

News of the case, the first to hit the German Olympic team, coincided with the opening ceremony. 

The cyclist was staying with the entire road race team along with his teammates at a hotel outside the Olympic village.

The 12 other German cyclists and team officials had previously tested negative and will undergo further tests.

Geschke wrote on Twitter that he was "more than disappointed to miss the Olympics tomorrow but also glad everyone else tested negative.”

The cyclists' roommate, Emanuel Buchmann, who had previously tested negative, will have to go through a further PCR test before being cleared to race.

The team said his teammates, Niklas  Arndt and Maximilian Schachmann, are eligible to start.

This would have been Geschke's second Olympic Games after Rio de Janeiro, where he finished 13th in the time trial but did not finish the road race.

Nearly 100 people have contracted coronavirus in the Olympic bubble, including several athletes.

Sports Life - The Rocky Road to the Olympics - Part 3

12:30

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on/msh (dpa, Reuters)

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