In a case that raises questions over Japanese organizers oversight of Olympic participants amid local coronavirus concerns, local officials are searching for a Ugandan athlete who vanished in western Japan on Friday.
The 20-year-old Ugandan athlete, Julius Ssekitoleko, was training with a nine-member team in Izumisano, Osaka prefecture, the city’s officials told AP. At noon on Friday, teammates realized the athlete wasn’t in the hotel room when his saliva sample was not delivered, and they discovered the room empty, city officials said. He was last seen in his room early on Friday morning. There was no training held that morning. After officials were unable to locate him inside the hotel, police were notified to conduct a broader search.
The latest international rankings indicated that Ssekitoleko was scheduled to return home next week because he did not meet Olympic standards. According to the Kyodo News agency, he left a note saying he wanted to work and stay in Japan. Izumisano’s mayor Hiroyasu Chiyomatsu said officials had received reports of possible sightings of Ssekitoleko at a nearby train station.
A pandemic-delayed Olympics is set to begin on July 23 despite concerns about rising infection levels in Tokyo. The number of cases in the host city rose to 1,271 on Friday, following a six-month high of 1,308 on Thursday. The Ugandan team has previously appeared in Japan’s surveillance and health system.
