South Australia’s government yesterday said that it would not back down on its requirement for 16 Olympians returning from Tokyo via Sydney to quarantine for a total of 28 days, a ruling that the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has described as “cruel.”
The athletes were expecting to quarantine for 14 days, as all those arriving in Australia from overseas must, but the extra two weeks is a South Australia requirement for recent visitors to Sydney.
South Australia Premier Steven Marshall said he would not be granting the athletes an exemption, especially given that the state’s seven-day lockdown was the result of a resident with COVID-19 returning home after undergoing quarantine in Sydney.
“It’s devastating for people who have already done 14 days,” Marshall told local media. “It is a tough decision, but we have got to take tough decisions to protect South Australia. It is very, very tough and we feel for these athletes, but every person coming in from Sydney at the moment is required to do 14 days of quarantine.”
Marshall said that the majority of the athletes would be able to isolate at home rather than in quarantine hotels, but that is unlikely to appease the AOC.
AOC chief executive Matt Carroll said that it had received assurances from the National Cabinet, the body that oversees inter-state relations, that no athlete would have to quarantine twice.
The AOC had applied for dispensation on the grounds that Olympians were fully vaccinated, had been tested daily and were living in a biosecure “bubble,” Carroll said.
The AOC had been given no reason for the rejection of its application, he said.
“Our concern from the outset has been the mental and physical health of the athletes, and we have respected the 14-day quarantine period, but without the detailed reasons, it’s very hard to understand why these athletes are being required to undergo this additional quarantine period,” Carroll said. “A reduction in the period of quarantine would be a good outcome.”
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
Australian Alex de Minaur reached the second week of the US Open for the third year in a row with little fanfare on Saturday and said he intended to keep winning until the tournament organizers were forced to give him better billing. Despite being the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, De Minaur’s third-round match against German Daniel Altmaier was scheduled for Court 17 — the smallest of the four stadium venues in the precinct. “It is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. I’m not gonna lie,” he told reporters after progressing 6-7 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4,
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
Spain are in danger of not getting out of EuroBasket Group C after losing 67-63 to Italy on Tuesday, but the defending champions still control their destiny. Marco Spissu put Italy in front for good at 64-63 with two free throws with 31 seconds left and made two more with 14 seconds remaining. Giampaolo Ricci converted one of two free throws with eight seconds on the clock. Spain, which in 2022 won their fourth title, are tied with Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 2-2 each. Greece and Italy have clinched two of the group’s four spots in the round-of-16,
RSS