#TokyoGoldRush | Carey McLeod, Fedrick Dacres set to finally arrive in Japan
Published:Tuesday | July 27, 2021 | 2:06 PMAndre Lowe/Sports Editor -
TOKYO, Japan:
Team manager Ludlow Watts says two Jamaican athletes, Carey McLeod and Fedrick Dacres, whose arrivals in the Olympic Village have been delayed because of issues with COVID-19 safety documentation, are set to fly into Japan for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games over the next two days.
McLeod, who is set to represent Jamaica in the triple jump and long jump events, was not allowed to board his flight into the country due to issues with his COVID-19 test certificate, raising fears he would miss the opportunity to compete at the championships.
The 23-year-old is set to start his competition in the men’s long jump on Saturday at 7:10 p.m. (5:10 a.m. Jamaica time) and will also line up in the triple jump on Tuesday, August 3 at 9 a.m. (August 2, 7 p.m.).
McLeod, the three-time SEC champion and six-time NCAA All-American, is the only man to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in both the long and triple jump events.
“The latest information is that he should be arriving within two days. That’s the latest information that I have,” said Watts.
Dacres, the World Championships silver medal winner in the discus event, has also had issues getting into Japan and is now expected to arrive just one day before the start of his competition, which gets going on Friday, July 30 at 9:45 a.m. (Thursday at 7:45 p.m.).
"He (Dacres) should arrive on the 29th and he goes in competition the next day,” said Watts.
“Dacres, prior to leaving on the 21st, he had gone to the Netherlands and the Netherlands is one of those countries that require 14 days quarantine if they have to pass through the USA. He had only gone 11 days, so he had to go back, stay back in Jamaica for three more days. But during that period he needed to do another PCR test, which was not done in time and that created further delays, but he should be here on the 29th,” Watts shared.
Majority of Jamaica’s track and field athletes arrived in Japan on July 23.