Nikita Nagornyy told TASS the Russian national team gymnasts have all received COVID-19 vaccines:
“All of us have been vaccinated already. Everything’s great, we have the antibodies.”
The locally developed COVID-19 vaccine has been available since last year and the Ministry of Sports announced that it would vaccinate the athletes back in January. The vaccination is voluntary but in addition to the protection from the virus, it offers certain perks – athletes who were vaccinated or had COVID-19 are allowed to leave Round Lake and on weekends and will not have to quarantine when they return to the training center.
The rate of the vaccination in Russia is relatively low, while the infection and mortality rates are currently rising. Several of the national team gymnasts, including Nagornyy, Listunova, and Kartsev were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past year. Olga Domuladzhanova, the head of Round Lake training center, passed away as the result of COVID-19 complications earlier this month.
Nagornyy also commented on the latest news that the Japanese people are asking to cancel or postpone the Games:
“I try not to think about it because there’s been a lot of conflicting information in the past year. If you’re preparing for the Olympic Games, such information isn’t helpful. So, it’s better to keep it all out and train in peace.”
