Authorities in the city of Izumisano, near Osaka, informed the police of the absence of weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko, 20, who did not show up for a daily anticovid test.
An Olympic athlete from Uganda has been declared missing after it was found that he was not in the hotel of the Japanese city of Izumisano, which houses the Olympic delegation of the African country, announced a spokesman for the mayor of this city near Osaka.
Shortly after noon on Friday, city authorities informed police of the absence of weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko, 20, who did not show up for a daily anticovid test.
The athlete was last seen by his compatriots shortly before midnight on Friday, local authorities said, warning police of the disappearance.
According to a Ugandan media, the ‘Daily Monitor’, Ssekitoleko was on a waiting list for the Games, but recently lost all hope of participating as a result of the Olympic quotas, so he had to return to his country soon.
Ssekitoleko was part of the first group of nine Ugandan athletes, coaches and managers who arrived in Japan in mid-June and in which two people, who were not athletes, tested positive for COVID shortly thereafter. The entire group was immediately quarantined.
The Japanese authorities have planned drastic restrictions for all participants in the Tokyo Games (from July 23 to August 8) at a time when the health crisis is worsening in the country.
Athletes are tested on a daily basis and their travels are limited to their accommodation places, their training centers and competition facilities. Almost all competitions will be played behind closed doors, as decided by the organizers last week.
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