Great Britain athletes forced to quarantine after support staffer tests positive for Covid

ATHLETICS-EUR-INDOOR
Golden girl: 800m winner Keely Hodgkinson is among the GB athletes forced to quarantine
AFP via Getty Images
Michael Weinstein10 March 2021

Britain’s squad for the last week’s European Indoor Championships have been forced to self-isolate after a member of the team’s support staff tested positive for coronavirus.

The 46-strong squad for the Championships in Torun, Poland, returned with 12 medals - third in the table behind the Netherlands and Portugal - and must complete 10 days in isolation in line with government guidance.

British Athletics said in a statement on Wednesday: “A member of the GB & NI team travelling party returning from Torun provided a positive lateral flow test on the evening of 9 March.

“This has been followed up this morning with a PCR test. As a result, all members of the travelling party will now need to self-isolate for a period of 10 days from Monday 8 March (ends Thursday 18 March) in line with government guidance.”

A number of positive tests blighted the Championships despite strict protocols which required all competing athletes to test negative upon arriving in Poland and again in Torun, as well as submit to further tests every five days.

Poland’s men’s 4x400m squad had to withdraw following a positive outbreak, while Belgian sprinter Eline Berings criticised the testing procedure after being forced to withdraw from the semi-finals of the 60m, claiming it was due to a false positive.

Britain’s Amy-Eloise Markovc, 25, won the 3,000m and team-mate Keely Hodgkinson, 19, struck gold in the 800m.

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