Abstract
ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic represents a difficult challenge for the whole of humanity. Sports, in which contact between athletes is essential, became impossible to practice without the risk of viral spread. Athletes of the national teams are a particular subgroup of the population for whom there is an important need for protection and the implementation of targeted preventive measures. The present report describes the protocol that was developed to answer the urgent protection need for athletes during COVID-19 pandemic. The protocol aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of a rigid prevention intervention to prevent outbreaks and infections in terms of COVID-19 as well as in other potential future pandemics from pathogens with similar path of transmission.MethodsThe study was conducted in rowing para-thletes training of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo2020. It was designed to create an anti-COVID-19 “protection bubble” with the aim to isolate para-athletes and their technical support team during pre-Olympic retreats. The “bubble” development relied on a carefully conducted protocol of repeated antigen and molecular COVID-19 tests on nasal and oropharyngeal fluids among all participants carried out before, during and at the end of each retreat.ResultsDuring the 10 months of protocol implementation there were no COVID-19 outbreaks among the para-athletes and technical personnel during the retreats. In total, 552 PCR tests and 298 antigen-based tests were performed for an average number of 42 test per athlete. The number of retreat participants was larger (n = 23) in the beginning of the year due to the Paralympic selection rounds and smaller at the end of the study period (n = 12).ConclusionThe protocol has indicated that it is possible to implement an anti-COVID-19 protection protocol where athletes and technical staff can train and compete in safe conditions. The study showed that it is feasible to implement a rigid prevention protocol for athletes and technical staff based on repeated COVID-19 antigenic and molecular tests for a long period of training with excellent participation and compliance.
Highlights
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has greatly modified and strained healthcare systems, disease outcomes and globalization
Within the vulnerable populations suffering from these measures, professional athletes saw their daily life completely altered by the uncertainties of the pandemic and waiting for the confirmation of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
In addition to the anxiety related to the lack of information on the actual carrying out of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, professional athletes saw themselves greatly impacted by the lack of knowledge on how the SARS-Cov-2 infection could affect their physical and mental performance
Summary
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has greatly modified and strained healthcare systems, disease outcomes and globalization. In addition to the anxiety related to the lack of information on the actual carrying out of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, professional athletes saw themselves greatly impacted by the lack of knowledge on how the SARS-Cov-2 infection could affect their physical and mental performance. Hu et al (2021) have studied the effect of COVID19 pandemic on athletes’ athletic identity, an important component of athlete’s self-concept and health and performance outcomes. They found that, in particular Paralympic athletes felt that their athletic identity was negatively challenged by the SARS-COV2 pandemic. This effect was explained by their singular focus on the loss of physical participation in sport during COVID19. Kubosch et al (2021) using a cross-sectional study design conducted as an online survey, found that due to the COVID19 pandemic athletes were very worried about their health, their social contacts, and the social cohesion of our society even more than about their finances and sponsorships
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