Paris Olympics: Multiple swimmers, including two Americans, test positive for COVID but aren't sent home

PARIS — Two U.S. swimmers and multiple peers from other countries have tested positive for COVID-19 at the 2024 Olympics in recent days, according to reports and officials here in Paris.

At the first supposedly-post-COVID Games, the athletes are not required to withdraw from competition. The virus is being treated more in line with other respiratory viruses.

But Australia’s Lani Pallister withdrew from her 1500-meter freestyle heat Tuesday morning.

Adam Peaty, who tested positive Sunday night, was affected by the virus during the 100-meter breaststroke final hours earlier. He still won silver, but swam over two seconds slower than his personal best.

A noticeably higher number of coaches, support staff and athletes were wearing masks at and around the pool on Tuesday morning and evening, as fears that the virus could derail a swimmer’s Olympics increased.

The two U.S. swimmers, meanwhile, have been forced to move to a hotel outside the Olympic Village, where they had been staying in an apartment with five other American swimmers, according to a Tuesday report from SwimSwam.

A USA Swimming spokeswoman declined to confirm the positives. But SwimSwam reported that the two infected athletes were David Johnston and Luke Whitlock.

Johnston is scheduled to swim the men’s 1500-meter freestyle this upcoming weekend, then the open-water marathon next week in the River Seine.

Whitlock already swam his only event, the 800-meter freestyle. He finished 15th in preliminary heats, and didn’t reach the final.

COVID-19 is no longer treated with the same precaution that surrounded it in 2021 and 2022, during the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Beijing Winter Games. It no longer disrupts entire sports or events. It no longer automatically robs athletes of their moments. It’s unclear, for example, if Peaty will swim later in the week.

But it has been disrupting individuals. Several riders pulled out of the Tour de France earlier this month after coming down with the virus. The Australian women’s water polo team had multiple cases on the eve of the Paris Games.

Athletes and their teams, in search of peak performance, have adjusted. During last month's French swimming trials, after several positive cases, masks became compulsory. Coaches and officials spoke about "protecting" swimmers, including Léon Marchand, and preventing COVID-19 from spoiling a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity at the Olympics.