Covid Olympics 2024

“After reading someone’s interview about Covid I decided, because my wife was obviously having chemo, that I didn’t want to risk bringing Covid home. So Adam [Peaty] very kindly reminded me that was still a thing.”

“The Paris Olympics proved that pretending the pandemic is over only serves to prolong it, that everyone, including elite athletes, are vulnerable and that we can’t hand-wash our way out of an airborne pandemic.”

Pre-print study showing countries that reduced Covid more effectively won more Gold medals than expected at the Paris Olympics and vice versa.

“I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics”

Lyles became the fastest man in the world on Monday, got Covid on Tuesday, then came third place on Thursday. “It definitely affected my performance.”

“I woke up in the middle of the night on Tuesday morning and my body was aching. I’ve got chills. I’ve got a headache. My sinuses are running. My throat is super sore. I’m like, ‘Oh no. These are all the signs I get before I get COVID.’”

“I knew it was a risk being around so many celebrating/traveling. Won’t be an excuse, gonna kick this thing and I’ll be ready for the Paralympics.”

“My whole world revolved around my body and my health. And that didn’t stop me from being completely debilitated by long Covid. It’s not something you can push through, because you just make yourself more and more sick.”

Her initial infection seemed like a “mild cold”, but it soon developed into severe long Covid and she “totally lost the ability to function”.

“Leaving athletes and coaches to navigate these tricky decisions themselves isn’t fair – but there has been a disappointing lack of leadership on this issue.”

“It’s brilliant when we see athletes modelling smart behaviour – like the Australian swimmers wearing masks on planes and at the airport”

“Yes, a virus that can literally cause brain damage is spreading at record levels and most people are acting like it’s just another wave. Just keep running.”

“She is not in a condition to compete”

“The disease completely threw him out”

“All those years of hard work (went) to the trash. I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t hear anybody … I couldn’t breathe up there.”

“We thought that by fight night I’d be doing better, but symptoms only got worse, and my temperature kept rising before and during the fight.”

“Despite recovering from the virus she still felt problems with breathing which continued after the event.”

“Belgium’s Olympic committee announced Sunday that it would withdraw its team from Monday’s triathlon mixed relay because Claire Michel was unable to compete.”

“I had Covid but we didn’t let this come out.”

Peaty began feeling unwell the day before the event.

“It’s probably the worst week of my life in terms of how my body is, and that’s no exaggeration. Everything’s come at once. Since Covid, it’s just every day waking up with a different thing.”

“I was everywhere and interacted with everyone. A cold spread to everyone, I also wore a mask, almost everyone caught a cold. The finals were even more equal, because you could hear people coughing at the pen or everywhere. Some withdrew, others continued.”

“Her throat was burning. She missed a few training sessions. But she pushed herself through the preliminaries.”

“Very few people actually know how much I’ve been through these past 3 years and how much I fought to be here”

“Romanian team wears masks but they are unable to move to a hotel”

“The bad result was a mystery so we did a test”

“Today is and will be one of the worst days of my life… What I’m feeling right now is beyond any defeat I’ve ever experienced in sport. I’m absolutely stunned, devastated and no longer understand the world…. I don’t know what to do next, my heart hurts and I can’t think clearly yet.”

Olympic preparation hit by a Covid infection in June.

“It was raining all this time and this morning I felt a sore throat”

“I just have not been feeling well the past few days and haven’t been able to eat or anything. I had no energy today and didn’t really have a sense of what was going on in my head.” Coach Brian Carey was not feeling well three days earlier. “Hopefully he doesn’t pass it around the team,” one fan wrote.

“Joel Embiid will not practice with Team USA today as he deals with an illness”

Myth: “And it’s actually backed by science. Proven methods. Just little things throughout your day, like not washing your hands after you go to the bathroom.”

“I think I’m immune to it for a while now”

“After Wimbledon, I contracted acute bronchitis”

“There is no big risk of a cluster” said the Health Minister, adding there was no obligation to wear a mask because the number of cases was still low.

“A second player who was a close contact has also tested positive, but that player is well enough to train.”

After having struggled with dizziness and fatigue in defeat at Wimbledon, Sinner delayed departure to Paris due to a flu-like illness. New symptoms include a painful sore throat and fever.

“…her preparations have been severely hampered after testing positive for coronavirus in March.”

Myth: “Covid isn’t as serious anymore these days, especially not when you already had the virus in the past.”

“I suffer from a so-called post-infectious syndrome caused by a viral infection”

“I’ve had corona three times… As soon as I go hard, the system explodes and I can’t breathe anymore.”

“Unfortunately I’ve been unwell with Covid”

“I’ve just lived my life almost like what it was in Covid” says athlete after being diagnosed with IgE deficiency, “a problem with the immune system which makes sufferers far more vulnerable to run-of-the-mill illnesses”

“Every time it would just come back worse and worse and worse.”