A Ugandan weightlifter has gone missing while training in western Japan ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Authorities are looking for Ugandan delegation member Julius Ssekitoleko, 20, who was in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, for a pre-Olympic training camp. He was not found in his hotel room, after failing to show up for a daily PCR test about midday.
‘One member of the Ugandan delegation, which the city received as a host town, has gone missing and cannot be reached. The city is making all efforts to search for the individual. We have reported the matter to the police,’ the city of Izumisano said in a statement.
A fellow athlete last saw Ssekitoleko inside the hotel soon after midnight, the statement added. As per the Daily Monitor, a Ugandan daily, Ssekitoleko was notified on Wednesday that he had lost out on a berth in the men’s 67kg category after being on the waiting list.
Uganda’s squad was one of the first to arrive in Japan for the Tokyo Olympics, which will begin on July 23 after a one-year delay. After landing at Narita airport on June 19, an athlete tested positive for the COVID-19. Another member of the team was also found to be infected a few days later when they reached their base city. The team started training last week.
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