KC Olympic gymnast reveals she’s not vaccinated. There’s no rule requiring it for Tokyo
Minutes after learning that she was going to next month’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo as an alternate for Team USA gymnastics, Leanne Wong was asked a question unrelated to her Sunday night performance at the U.S. Gymnastics Trials:
“Are you vaccinated yet?” a reporter inquired.
“No, actually not vaccinated yet,” Wong responded.
Three questions later, the recent Blue Valley High grad was asked if she planned on getting vaccinated against COVID-19 — and, if so, why she’d waited so long to get the shot.
The 17-year-old, visibly uncomfortable, deferred to her parents, whose consent she’d need to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Um, I’m not sure. I haven’t really talked to my parents about it much,” Wong said. “But I know they’re scientists, and they develop drugs, as well, so they’re just waiting to get the vaccine.”
Both of Wong’s parents are research scientists and had conversations about the COVID-19 vaccine with Leanne, said her mother, Bee Ding. Ding said Leanne had the choice to get the vaccine, but trusted her parents’ views and chose not to.
Wong and friend and fellow GAGE Gymnastics competitor Kara Eaker were designated as Olympic “replacement athletes,” more commonly referred to as alternates, for Team USA earlier this week.
Eaker, a recent Grain Valley High grad, said she had been vaccinated. A third alternate, Emma Malabuyo, said she had, too. Kayla DiCello, the fourth and final alternate for these Olympic Games, was not asked about her vaccination status during the post-trials news conference.
It’s unclear, and USA Gymnastics declined to confirm, whether main USA team members Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Grace McCallum, MyKayla Skinner and Jade Carey were vaccinated, though Biles has been outspoken in support of widespread vaccination.
Ding said some people have been unfair to Leanne online in the days since it became public that Leanne was not vaccinated. Ding said she does not believe it’s a risk for Leanne to travel without being vaccinated because of the precautions in place and how careful she is about her health.
“It’s definitely hurtful, what they’re doing,” Ding said. “They’re attacking her, saying she is risking the whole team and she shouldn’t be allowed to be on the team and to go to Tokyo.
“I think she’s being unfairly treated ... because it’s not a rule or required by IOC, or USOPC, to be vaccinated,” Ding said. “I feel that it’s a private matter whether we want the vaccine or not.”
A source with knowledge of the protocols followed by the U.S. teams said it has been assumed that some athletes would not be vaccinated. It’s unclear whether USA Gymnastics is tracking which athletes are vaccinated and which are not.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach estimated during a June 21 news conference that more than 80% of athletes and officials at the Tokyo Olympics will have been vaccinated by the time they arrive in Japan.
The IOC has encouraged but not mandated vaccination for anyone attending the Olympics. The IOC’s so-called playbook also outlines other COVID-19 regulations, such as the wearing of masks, minimizing of physical interactions and avoidance of public transport when possible. Olympic organizers are providing dedicated vehicles to shuttle athletes and their respective traveling parties to and from the Olympic village in which they’ll stay.
For the gymnastics team, Wong’s decision to remain unvaccinated brings up this concern: her role on the team as an alternate. Wong and her fellow replacement athletes are being sent to Tokyo to compete in the event that one of the main team members is injured ... or tests positive for COVID-19. It would be reasonable to expect those designated as replacement athletes would be as protected as possible — vaccinated — against the virus.
USA Gymnastics confirmed that the number of replacement athletes was increased this year as a means of dealing with a potential COVID-19 outbreak — with four replacement athletes, as opposed to the usual two, a team could still compete should a worst-case scenario sideline several Team USA “starters.”
A source with knowledge of the situation said the replacement athletes will be housed with, and trained alongside, Biles and other members of the front-line team. Should a COVID-19 case occur among the team, both the selected athletes and replacement athletes could potentially be exposed. If the replacement athletes are not needed, the source said, they will be sent home after the first day of competition has begun.
The third and final version of the Tokyo 2020 Playbook, published June 15 by the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee, contains guidance for athletes and anyone else attending the Games under auspices of national federations, such as coaches.
According to the IOC and Paralympic guidelines, vaccinations are not required of the U.S. athletes even though the Olympics are being held in Japan, a country whose vaccination rates remain startlingly low.
“While we encourage everyone coming to Tokyo to get vaccinated if this is possible in line with the national immunisation guidelines of your country, you will not be required to have received a vaccine in order to participate in the Games,” the Playbook states.
USA Gymnastics followed these vaccination guidelines as part of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic committees, as has as Japan and the International Gymnastics Federation.
“We encouraged vaccinations for those who were able to get them; but, like the USOPC, Japan and FIG, we also understood there are unique individual circumstances and did not require vaccination in order for athletes to compete,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement.
The source with knowledge of the situation underscored that testing, including daily PCR tests administered to the athletes in Tokyo, will be important. USA Gymnastics conducted daily PCR testing during the U.S. trials in St. Louis last weekend, the source said.
The idea in Tokyo will be to keep the U.S. athletes inside a figurative bubble, with plans strictly detailing where they, their coaches and anyone else with whom they come in contact may go.
Ding said she believes the protocols in place are strict enough to protect the athletes, including her daughter, in Tokyo. She said she believes the athletes will take the precautions seriously, given their desire to be able to compete.
“I just feel like there’s no concern with all the protocol they have to test the athletes, and testing Leanne to make sure she’s safe,” Ding said. “They test them more than enough. ... So, as far as caution and testing protocol (go) out there, I feel that it will be sufficient for the safety of the athletes.”
In an op-ed published Thursday morning by the New England Journal of Medicine, however, Dr. Annie Sparrow and three other medical experts criticized the IOC’s playbook.
“We believe the IOC’s determination to proceed with the Olympic Games is not informed by the best scientific evidence,” the article said. “The playbooks maintain that athletes participate at their own risk, while failing both to distinguish the various levels of risk faced by athletes and to recognize the limitations of measures such as temperature screenings and face coverings.”
Contact-tracing and testing guidelines are also detailed within the playbook. Athletes must download a health-reporting app to log their status and provide proof of negative COVID tests both before departing for the Games and upon arrival at the airport in Japan.
In a statement made at the time the playbook was published, IOC executive director Christophe Dubi said: “The Playbooks are the result of more than a year of close collaboration with leading scientific institutions, sports organizations and our partners in Japan. We also brought in experts, who commented on previous versions of the Playbooks.
“Now everyone knows the rules. It is crucial that the measures enacted in the Playbooks are respected so that the Games are a safe and secure event for all participants and for the people of Japan.“
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 1:04 PM.