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Tokyo Olympics: Guinea will ultimately not participate, because of the Covid-19

2021-07-22T07:42:22.861Z


"Due to the resurgence of Covid-19 variants", the Guinean government, "concerned about preserving the health of Guinean athletes,


Guinea will not participate in the Olympics.

The West African country, which was to send a small delegation of five athletes to the Tokyo Olympics, has decided to cancel its participation because of the Covid-19, the Minister of Sports announced on Wednesday.

A source close to the government of Conakry for his part mentioned financial problems to justify the renunciation of this poor West African state two days before the official opening ceremony on Friday evening.

"Due to the resurgence of variants of Covid-19", the government, "concerned about preserving the health of Guinean athletes, has decided with regret the cancellation of Guinea's participation" in the Tokyo games, wrote the Minister of Sports, Sanoussy Bantama Sow, in a letter addressed to the President of the Guinean Olympic Committee.

"The file has been overcharged, that's why the ministry can not pay," however, told AFP, on condition of anonymity, a source close to the government, without further details.

Read alsoJO Tokyo: between indifference and worry, the Japanese do not wait for the Games

The Guinean press for its part evoked on Wednesday evening problems of unpaid premiums.

Guinea, which has never won a medal in 11 appearances at the Olympic Games, was to send to Tokyo Fatoumata Yarie Camara (freestyle wrestling), Mamadou Samba Bah (judo), Fatoumata Lamarana Touré and Mamadou Tahirou Bah (swimming) and Aïssata Deen Conté (athletics, women's 100m).

Before Guinea, North Korea had announced in April that it would not participate in the Tokyo Olympics to “protect” its athletes from any risk linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

While softball and football kicked off the sporting events on Wednesday, the boss of the World Health Organization (WHO) recalled that “the race against the virus” of Covid-19 was still not won.

Two athletes dismissed after testing positive

While the Covid-19 has already killed more than four million, "we are at the first stage of a new wave of infections and deaths", and "100,000 more people will lose their lives by the extinction of the Olympic flame on August 8, ”he insisted.

In Japan, the daily results of tests carried out since July 1 on people working on the Games (sportsmen, managers, media) showed 79 positive cases on Wednesday, out of more than 20,000 people tested, 8 of which concern sportsmen.

Among the unfortunate ones, a Chilean taekwondoist and a Dutch skateboarder, the first sportswomen in Japan to have to give up the Olympics.

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2021-07-22

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