Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Dutch swimming team went into isolation as a precaution in a former monastery in Drachten. The swimmers will live and train there indefinitely, so that they can prepare as well as possible for the tournaments later this year.
In any case, these are the top swimmers who normally train in Amsterdam and Eindhoven. Among them are Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Kira Toussaint, Femke Heemskerk and Arno Kamminga, who have already placed on one or more tracks for the Summer Olympics.
“Our top athletes would like to keep preparing for upcoming tournaments, but we absolutely do not want this to pose a risk to their environment,” says technical director André Cats of the Royal Dutch Swimming Federation (KNZB). “That is why we have taken all kinds of measures to limit possible risks for our top athletes and their family and friends.”
The swimming team left for the former monastery in Drachten on Saturday. The training sessions are completed in swimming center De Welle, which has been closed to the public since Thursday evening. The former monastery is also completely closed off from the outside world.
“Probably lasts longer than a week”
It is not yet known how long the swimming team will stay in Drachten. “The situation will be reviewed every week, but it will probably be longer than one week,” a spokesman for the KNZB told NU.nl.
In any case, Cats is happy with the emergency solution for the swimming team. “In Drachten we have the entire living and training situation under control. This way we can continue the training. In addition, we naturally hope that the situation in the Netherlands will stabilize in the foreseeable future.”
Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, the Swim Cup in The Hague and the Olympic qualifying tournament in Eindhoven were recently canceled. The KNZB will soon be consulting with NOC * NSF to review the qualification procedures for the Summer Games.
–
Follow the latest developments around the virus in our live blog.
The coronavirus in short
- The virus mainly spreads through cough and sneeze droplets that hang briefly in the air.
- An infected person infects two to three others on average. This number may decrease with proper precautions.
- The vast majority of patients have mild (flu-like) complaints.
- Almost all deaths involve older or already sick people. You can protect these people with precautions.
- Read here what the most important precautions are.
–
–
–
– .
