Olympic officials have warned athletes at the Tokyo Games to not hug each other should they be invited up to the podium to accept a medal.
The International Olympic Committee reminded competitors about the COVID-19 protocol after medalists in some swimming competitions celebrated with an embrace at the awards ceremony Sunday.
“We would urge and ask everyone to obey the rules, whatever stakeholder you are,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said, adding that it was a “must-have, both for the sports and for everyone involved.”
The athletes were also asked to keep their masks on, stay on their own podium and maintain a safe distance from other medalists.
“It sends a strong message so please follow the playbooks. We understand there is excitement and we feel for the athletes but unfortunately, we have had to make the rules stricter,” Adams said in a statement.
Among those who breached the rules was American gold-medalist swimmer Chase Kalisz, who took off his mask and hugged silver medalist Jay Litherland after placing in the men’s 400-meter medley.
“Ideally, I will wear it as much as possible. If I had the mask off on the podium it was really because someone was holding a sign,” Kalisz told ESPN.
“I can’t speak for what the proper protocol was, but he had a sign on the podium that said mask off, mask on, so that’s what we did.”
A dozen swimmers from Australia, Canada and the USA’s 4x100m relay medal-winning teams also hugged each other after Sunday’s final.
Olympic organizers have reported 127 games-related COVID-19 cases, including 14 athletes, this month in Japan.
With Post wires