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SAMOA BECOMES SECOND COUNTRY TO WITHDRAW SOME ATHLETES FROM TOKYO OLYMPICS
Samoa has become the second country to withdraw some athletes from the Tokyo Olympics as fears grow of a depleted Games being staged under a renewed state of emergency.
Meanwhile, visiting officials and media have been handed a Big Brother-style warning that that they risk being watched and shamed on social media if they fail to adhere to stringent quarantine conditions.
The Samoan Olympic Committee confirmed it has withdrawn three weightlifters who had qualified for Tokyo, but said eight other team members, none of whom are based on the Pacific island, will still attend the Games.
A statement said the decision over the weightlifters, who are all based in Samoa, was taken reluctantly in order to “protect our borders”, citing the continued struggle to contain the virus on nearby Fiji.
So far, North Korea is the only other nation to have voluntarily withdrawn athletes, having announced in April that it would not be sending any athletes to the Games due to risks associated with the virus.
Source: thesun
