Australian Olympic star struck down by Covid just DAYS before Paris Games begin

A member of the Australian women’s water polo team has tested positive to COVID-19 ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Team chef de mission Anna Meares said on Tuesday morning that the player had mild symptoms after testing positive on Monday night.

Two members of the team were supposed to attend the Australian team’s regular morning media briefing on Tuesday, but they were withdrawn as a precaution.

Meares said the unnamed player was isolating from teammates.

‘This is a high-performance environment, so we are being diligent, but I need to emphasise we are treating COVID no different to other bugs like the ‘flu – this is not Tokyo,’ Meares said.

‘The athlete is not particularly unwell and they are still training, but sleeping in a single room … the whole team will train today as planned.

‘We’ve been able to get a really good handle on what might be going about.

‘What was very positive about this situation and this athlete was that they followed the protocols … and at the first sign of symptoms they acted responsibly and presented themselves to the medical team to be tested.’

The Australian team has its own medical testing equipment for illnesses such as COVID-19 and the ‘flu.

Meares said ‘a couple’ of unnamed officials on the Australian team have cold and ‘flu symptoms and are being treated the same at the water polo player.

Australia’s first women’s water polo match is against China on Saturday evening.