Covid-19 hits German Olympic boxing team

The German Boxing Federation yesterday reported that a "large part" of its 25-strong Tokyo Olympic Games team has contracted Covid-19 while training in the Austrian Alps.

The group, made up of 18 boxers and seven other staff members, must now remain in quarantine at the training camp in Laengenfeld in Tirol, DBV director Michael Mueller said.

Without specifying numbers he said "a large part of the team" was affected but that everyone was doing well so far.

"The boxers are now in quarantine. They aren't showing strong symptoms and can even keep training," Mueller said.

The athletes' conditions are being carefully monitored and they should be allowed to return home in the coming week, he added.

German weekly Der Spiegel had earlier reported that the boxers, who are training for the postponed Tokyo Olympics, started showing signs of a cold on Tuesday before suspicions of Covid-19 were confirmed on Wednesday.

The training camp was the team's first foray abroad since the start of the pandemic.

The 2020 Games were postponed in a historic decision earlier this year because of the pandemic, and they are now set to open on July 23, 2021