Coronavirus fears prompt ‘matrix’ database to keep track of our athletes

The Australian Olympic Committee and the Australian Institute of Sport are preparing a “matrix” to track hundreds of athletes’ movements in the face of the coronavirus crisis.

Olympic sprint swimmer Kyle Chalmers is not distracted by coronavirus fears

The Australian Olympic Committee and the Australian Institute of Sport are preparing a “matrix” ­database to track the movements of hundreds of Australian athletes in the face of the growing coronavirus crisis.

Prospective Olympians are currently in the latter stages of training just months out from the Tokyo Games, with many finetuning preparations overseas.

“The AOC and the AIS are ­together preparing a complete matrix of all teams and athletes,” an AOC spokesperson said.

“It is to keep track of where they are going around the world. It is something that will provide a complete picture, so we can accurately update them on the coronavirus as they continue to prepare for the Olympic Games.”

The Australian women’s water polo team have already cancelled their planned two-week training camp in Europe, while the AIS ­European centre in Varese in northern Italy has been closed ­because of the rising death toll in the country.

A scheduled AOC planning and logistics visit to Tokyo late next month is still going ahead.

So far, Australia’s top athletes, including Olympic swimming champion Kyle Chalmers, have continued to train on undistracted by the coronavirus outbreak that is threatening the Tokyo Olympics, due to begin on July 24.

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Games bosses and the Japanese government have pledged that the Games will proceed, and Chalmers said he hoped that would be the case.

“It’s not distracting,” the swim star said. “It’s out of my control, firstly, but I am actually really interested in it and how something like that can just take off, it’s fascinating. So I have been looking into a fair bit of news about it.”

Senior International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound said this week organisers of the Tokyo Games must decide by late May whether it would be safe to stage the sporting showpiece in July as scheduled.

“I think by May they have hopefully solved the problem,” Chalmers said. “And I guess that is their job to do. And my job is to swim as fast as I can in the pool and prepare for the Olympic Games, which is all I can really worry about for the time being.

“My mind and everything I am doing is preparing for July and I’m doing absolutely everything I can to swim as fast as I can.”

Australia’s Olympic hierarchy said this week there had been no indication to suggest the Tokyo Games would not go ahead.

Some Australians, including Caleb Ewan, were among cyclists tested for the coronavirus after the UAE Tour was cancelled on Thursday due to two Italian riders testing positive for COVID-19.

The Abu Dhabi Sports Council did not name the riders concerned but said all the race participants, staff and organisers were being screened for the flu-like virus.

Ewan, who finished second in stage one of the race, is competing with several other Australians including William Clarke, Kaden Groves, Rob Power, Jai Hindley and Michael Hepburn in the seven-stage race.

Meanwhile, Perth Glory players are breathing a huge sigh of relief after their Asian Champions League clash in South Korea was postponed.