TOKYO — A Ugandan weight lifter who traveled to Japan in the hopes of competing in the Tokyo Olympics was missing from his hotel near an athletic training camp, officials said on Friday. Julius Ssekitoleko, 20, one of nine Ugandans who had been staying in Izumisano — a city in Osaka Prefecture in western Japan — since mid-June was discovered to be missing around noon Friday when he failed to show up for a coronavirus test. Olympic organizers have tried to keep all participants in the Games in a “bubble” and in compliance with strict rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus while they are in the country. Athletes training outside Japan have been restricted to hotels and training venues. Organizers recently announced that all spectators would be barred from venues in Tokyo, which declared a state of emergency amid a rise in coronavirus cases.

Source: New York Times July 16, 2021 09:29 UTC