Oly Whites ready for Games challenge, Kiwi Olympian reveals miraculous injury recovery, Warriors forced to name patchwork team plus more. Video / NZ Herald
The Australian Olympic team has been rocked by a star's provisional suspension after returning a positive result for cocaine in his system.
It emerged on Wednesday morning, equestrian debutant Jamie Kermond had returned a positive A-sample for a metabolite of cocaine.
According to reports, he did not travel with the rest of the team when they flew to Tokyo on Tuesday night.
The test was conducted in late June.
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said in a statement it would address the matter "later today".
Equestrian Australia released a statement confirming the news.
"Equestrian Australia has provisionally suspended Jumping athlete Jamie Kermond under the Australian National Anti-Doping Policy 2021," the governing body claimed.
"The mandatory Provisional Suspension Notice asserts Mr Kermond returned a positive A-sample for a metabolite of cocaine following a test conducted by Sport Integrity Australia on June 26, 2021.
"Cocaine is prohibited In-Competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Australian National Anti-Doping Policy 2021.
"Mr Kermond is prohibited from participating in any WADA compliant event, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, while the provisional suspension is in place."
Eerie scenes as Tokyo Olympics begin
Australia's softball team has featured in the first official event of the Tokyo Olympics in a deflating scene.
The Aussie team is taking on host nation Japan in an event that was designed to charge local Olympic spirit just days before Friday's Opening Ceremony.
However, the eerie scenes of an empty stadium and fake crowd noise broadcast got the world's biggest athletic event off to a less than impressive start.
The AP news agency reported there were just 50 people watching at the back of the grandstand – members of the teams' staff and media representatives. The softball stadium has a capacity of 30,000.
Team Australia and Team Japan stand in the infield prior to their game at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium. Photo / Getty
The stringent coronavirus measures that will surround the Olympics will also result in the 68,000-seat Tokyo Olympic Stadium being deserted during Friday's opening ceremony.
Some commentators labelled the scenes "sad".
Pretty sad to see this softball game in front of no fans. But it's on television in the US so it's a win for all concerned.
A Ugandan athlete who disappeared in Japan last week has been found by police.
The weightlifter was the first athlete to test positive after arriving in Japan.
After travelling to Osaka, where the Ugandan team was finishing it's pre-Olympics training camp, the athlete, now identified as 20-year-old Julius Ssekitoleko, went missing after failing to make the team's final Olympics squad.
He was scheduled to fly home on Tuesday but he went missing but he instead failed to show up for a scheduled Covid-19 test.
According to The New York Times, he left a note saying he wished to work in Japan.
Police eventually tracked him down 100 miles away from Osaka in Yokkaichi.
'Heartbroken' Paralympian withdraws after personal carer locked out
Paralympian Becca Meyers has been forced to withdraw from America's team as a result of her mum – also her personal carer – being denied entry for the Tokyo Games.
The swimmer is deaf and blind.
The three-time gold medallist posted on Friday morning she was heartbroken to have to make the decision to withdraw as a form of protest against the treatment of Paralympic athletes.
Meyers said the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee denied her request and claims the American Paralympic swimming team will have just one designated carer to look after the entire 34-person squad – including nine swimmers that are blind.
The furore surrounding Japan's hosting of the Olympics in the storm of a pandemic has resulted in a last-minute revolt from some of the biggest companies in the world.
With polls earlier this year showing just 20 per cent of Tokyo residents wanted the Games to go ahead, companies are pulling their support just days out from the Opening Ceremony on Friday night.
Beer giant Asahi, electronics company Fujitsu and telecoms provider NTT previously said they would not send senior executives to the Games.
Panasonic on Friday morning announced it was doing the same thing.
Major sponsor Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, also scrapped plans to run an Olympic-linked brand campaign in Japan, as a senior official said the Games lacked "understanding" from the public.
Fears over the weather, which is also expected to see humidity sit at around 70 per cent, has already seen organisers move the marathon and race walking 800km north of Tokyo to the much-cooler Sapporo.
When Tokyo last held the Olympics in 1964, the Games were held in October to avoid the summer heat.
South Africa coach fears Eriksen incident
South Africa's Olympic football coach fears his players' health could be at risk after being forced to isolate at the Tokyo Games, citing Christian Eriksen's traumatic ordeal at Euro 2020.
The team head into their opening game against Japan on Thursday in disarray after two players and a video analyst tested positive for coronavirus following their arrival at the Olympic Village.
Twenty-one members of the team contingent were named as close contacts on Monday, forcing them to miss two training sessions as they isolated in their rooms.
Coach David Notoane fears the lack of time to acclimatise in hot and steamy Tokyo could put his players at risk.
He pointed to the example of Denmark midfielder Eriksen, who collapsed at the European Championship last month after suffering a cardiac arrest before being resuscitated.
"You saw what happened in Euro 2020 when Denmark played," Notoane said on Tuesday.
"One can only hope and pray that with the players having been out of activity for a long time since we arrived here, we don't experience something like that."
"Maybe we haven't acclimatised enough to these conditions as we would have liked to," he added.
