OlympicTalk · Aug 1, 2020
Wayde van Niekerk misses comeback meet after coronavirus concerns
Wayde van Niekerk did not race in his scheduled international comeback meet in Italy on Saturday after coronavirus concerns.
Van Niekerk, the Olympic 400m champion and world-record holder returning from leg injuries, reportedly tested positive for the virus on Thursday, then had a negative test on Friday but was still held out of the meet. He was on the start list but was a DNS (did not start) on the results page.
Van Niekerk’s agent confirmed Friday that a member of the sprinter’s group, which arrived in Italy from South Africa earlier in July and had been quarantining, tested positive for the virus. Van Niekerk’s agent did not specify if the person who tested positive was van Niekerk.