Nikita Nagornyy announced his withdrawal from the Russian Championships that are starting tomorrow. He wrote on his Instagram that he developed high fever last night and continued feeling unwell today.
“Well, I was overcome [with an illness], guys. Today, I spent the whole day lying down with a fever of 39C, while tomorrow’s the first day of the competition already. The national team coaches and I made the decision together for me to skip these Russian Championships. It’s upsetting but my health is more important.”
Gymnasts had to be tested for COVID-19 ahead of the competition but it is not clear whether Nagornyy was tested again after developing fever. In an Instagram story, he said he doesn’t think it could be COVID-19 because he did serological testing in the past and antibodies for COVID-19 were found in his blood.
UPDATE: Nikita Nagornyy announced in Clubhouse that he has been diagnosed with strep throat.
