Virtually the entire Dutch gymnastics team will not play this weekend during the World Cup in Baku. This is a precautionary measure, because participant Rayderley Zapata from Spain showed flu symptoms. The Dutch team will return to Amsterdam by plane this morning.
Only Epke Zonderland was left in Azerbaijan with coach Daniel Knibbeler and physiotherapist Tjeerd Tjeerdsma. Zonderland wants to strengthen his position in the World Cup classification, as the winner automatically qualifies for the Olympic Games.
It is not yet known whether Zapata actually suffers from the coronavirus, but Bart Deurloo, Rick Jacobs, Frank Rijken, Casimir Schmidt, Bram Verhofstad and Sanne Wevers do not want to run the risk of being quarantined far from home.
“World Cup not a top priority”
“We left as a precaution,” said Deurloo upon arrival at Schiphol. “For the same money, Zapata has corona and then we are being held there. The World Cup is not that important to me to risk it.” The 29-year-old gymnast is already certain of a starting ticket at the Olympic all-around in Tokyo.
Wevers was very disappointed that she now has to miss the tournament in Baku. “I was looking forward to it and was ready to test myself, but you don’t want to be imprisoned in a hotel for two weeks and you don’t want to be infected with the corona virus.” The Olympic champion on the beam called it a difficult decision. “But the World Cup is not a top priority for me. Those are the Olympics.”
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