TOKYO — Philippine pole vaulter EJ Obiena and his team have taken extra precautions after American world champion Sam Kendricks was ruled out of the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19.
Kendricks’ dad posted on social media that his son had no symptoms but was informed while in Tokyo that he tested positive and was out of the competition.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee confirmed the news and said Kendricks has been placed in isolation at a hotel, leaving the pole vault competition that begins on Saturday without one of its top medal contenders.
Also out of contention is German Chiaraviglio of Argentina, also because of a positive test.

Kendricks won the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics and took gold at the last two world championships. He holds the American record at 19 feet, 10 ½ inches (6.06 meters).
Kendricks is largely considered as the biggest threat to gold-medal favorite Armand Duplantis of Sweden.
Obiena, the country's brightest hope of landing its first athletics gold medal since Miguel White's bronze medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1936 Games in Berlin, isn't taking any chances after the Kendricks positive test.
'We can never be too careful'
Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) secretary-general Terry Capistrano said they have hired a private van to ferry Obiena and his team from their hotel to their training venue and back to keep them off the transport system that is servicing the whole Olympic community.
As athletics team leader, Capistrano has also taken the initiative to make sure the team's training venues and rooms are disinfected thoroughly.
"We're taking a lot of extra precautions now," he said. "We're bringing our own alcohol to Edogawa Stadium, where EJ practices, and we are the ones who wipe down whatever surfaces he will be in contact with. We can never be too careful anymore."
As it is, the entire Australian track team spent time in quarantine after the Kendricks positive test was announced.
Obiena and Fil-Am sprinter Kristina Knott were supposed to enter the Athletes Village with their respective teams last week, but delegation and Patafa officials decided against it after one coach tested positive for the virus.
The athletics group has since stayed in a nearby hotel.
Kendricks was one of dozens of athletes on the training track this week, and Australia announced it had put its entire 54-person team (41 athletes and 13 officials) in isolation and subjected it to testing after three athletes reported having casual contact with Kendricks.
A few hours after that, the Australian Olympic Committee announced the trio had tested negative and all but those three had been cleared to return to normal activities.
The three athletes remained in isolation, allowed to resume practice under strict distancing protocols. Australia said everyone was expected to be able to compete.
“Once again, abundant caution and our strict protocols continue to keep the team safe,” Australian team leader Ian Chesterman said. “We want every Australian athlete to be in a position to have their Olympic moment. We will continue to be vigilant.”
Unclear is how many other athletes might have had contact with Kendricks, how Olympic officials will figure that out, and what they might demand of them with the track meet only a day away. - With reports from AP
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