Swimming – USA A nice swimmer follows a vaccine refusal

TOKYO, July 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. Olympic swimming gold, which rejected the coronavirus vaccine, has strictly adhered to health protocols while in Japan as part of a group that is taking action seriously, a senior official said Thursday.

Michael Andrewa has been criticized on social media in recent weeks after he decided to leave the vaccine worried about how he might react to it so close to the Tokyo Olympics starting on Friday.

Andrew has called it an educated decision and claimed he was not anti-vax.

U.S. men’s team head coach Dave Durden said he was pleased with Andrew’s preparation and the way he and his teammates had behaved.

“I feel very comfortable about what he does, where he is, how he works. You even know that even in a situation like today, he was in the pool with very few people,” Durden said.

“We are now looking at a couple of things as coaches, trying to swim fast, it is our top priority, because he still feels safe and the athletes also feel safe, feel comfortable.

“It’s the team spirit that we really support each other, and Michael is no different in that regard.”

Athletes are not required to be vaccinated at the Olympics, where 87 people involved in the game, including athletes, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

22-year-old Andrew, the champion of Pan Pacific, ranks at the top of the men’s 200-meter complex race and also competes in the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter breaststroke, where he has recorded this year’s fastest times in the world.

Durden said he didn’t know if Andrew was staying in a separate room in the athletes’ village.

Durden asked if there had been bitterness or a bad mood on the team about Andrew’s decision not to get the vaccine, Durden said, “No resentment, and we haven’t felt the mood.”

Rapporteur: Martin Petty; Edited by Hugh Lawson

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