TOKYO. After four days, Japanese police found a weightlifter from Uganda who left the Olympic training camp and left a message that he wanted to find a job.
Julius Ssekitoleko disappeared at a time when there were great fears in Tokyo about the spread of the coronavirus after the arrival of thousands of foreigners at the 2020 Olympics.
“We found the man on Tuesday in Mie prefecture, he was not injured and he was not involved in any crime. He had documents with him and identified himself. However, it is not clear whether he should travel to the team or to the embassy,” AFP was quoted as saying by police.
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Twenty-year-old Ssekitoleko did not show up for a coronavirus test on Friday and was not found in his hotel room. He recently learned that he would not be able to compete in Tokyo for national quotas.
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He left a note in the room asking him to send his belongings to his family in Uganda. From Izumisana in Osaka Prefecture, he headed to Nagoya in central Japan, then to nearby Gifu Prefecture, and finally south to Mie.
“We found him in the house with people he met. He did not defend himself and talked to us, we are still finding out his motive,” the police added.
The Ugandan athlete had to explain why he did not fly home as planned, but headed for an escape from Japan.
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There were problems with the Uganda expedition after the arrival in June, when another member of the delegation had a positive test for COVID-19. In addition, they diagnosed a more contagious variant of the delta.
After isolation and several days of training, the Ugandans without Ssekitolek headed to the Olympic village in Tokyo.
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There are only three days left until the start of the “pandemic” Olympics. There were 1,387 positive coronavirus infections in Tokyo on Tuesday, 557 more than a week ago.
Healthcare professionals and ordinary people in the Japanese capital fear that the arrival of eleven thousand athletes, their implementation teams, VIP guests and the media will make the situation with the virus even worse during the declared state of emergency in Tokyo.
So far, since July 1, they have discovered more than 70 positive cases in connection with the Olympic Games, mostly among people from the service staff of athletes.
Tokyo 2021 Summer Olympics
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