A COVID-19 test taken by Maltese Swimmer Sasha Gatt less than an hour after she raced in Heat 1 of the 1500m Freestyle resulted positive.
In a post-race interview with sports journalist Sandro Micallef she said ‘I did not wake up very well this morning, was not feeling very well’ She humbly added; ‘but that is not an excuse for my performance of today’ .
The official COVID-19 test was done on Gatt around 30mins after this interview. It transpired that she was actually sick with COVID-19.
MOC Director of Medical Dr Lucienne Attard was immediately informed of the outcome and is due to medically assess Sasha Gatt at the Athletes Olympic Village. Gatt’s case is not the first COVID-19 case reported in these Games.
Several international media outlets are reporting that several athletes are being tested positive and the virus is forcing them to withdraw from events. Amongst these athletes several are swimmers. Adam Peaty from Great Britain and Australian swimmer Lani Pallister both tested positive.
maltasport.mt wishes a speedy recovery to Sasha Gatt.
