Marathon runner Hitomi Niiya has become the 11th member of the Japanese team at the World Athletics Championships to test positive for the coronavirus, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations said Sunday.

Hitomi Niiya. (Kyodo)

Niiya, who had a fever before testing positive, was forced to pull out of Monday's women's marathon. Mao Ichiyama also tested positive earlier, leaving Mizuki Matsuda as the only Japanese running the 42.195-kilometer race on Day 4 of competition.

Three coaches also tested positive, joining Ichiyama's husband and fellow marathon runner Kengo Suzuki, as well as head coach Kazuhiko Yamazaki on the COVID list, the national governing body of athletics said.

Organizers expect the 10-day event in Oregon to draw close to 200,000 visitors and 1,900 athletes from across the world as the Omicron subvariants sweep through the United States.


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