Athlete misses chance to compete for world athletics gold medal due to suspected virus infection

Makwala arrived at the 400-meter final, but was not allowed through the gate because he was suspected of having the virus.

"They said I had food poisoning. If they had clear evidence, I could accept it, but they just saw me vomiting, and saw other athletes with the same symptoms, so they just concluded. It's unfair to me," Isaac Makwala told ITV News on the evening of August 8.

Makwala was upset after being left out of the 400m final, despite being fit enough to compete.

A few days earlier, the BBC reported that a number of athletes attending the World Athletics Championships in London had suffered from food poisoning. Doctors from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) tested the patients and discovered that the agent was norovirus - a virus that causes diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. They were forced to quarantine the athletes in hotels on Sunday (August 6) to prevent the virus from spreading.

The IAAF confirmed that Makwala had similar symptoms on August 7, so they quarantined the Botswana athlete in a private room for 48 hours. That meant he could not compete in the 400m final, an event in which he was considered a strong contender.

However, the Botswana team doctors insisted that Makwala was fit and ready to compete. The athlete and his doctors arrived at the stadium just 24 hours later, hoping to still compete in the 400m final, but were not allowed to enter the stadium, and the IAAF did not conduct any tests.

* Makwala arrived at the stadium, but was stopped by security and not allowed in.

To broaden public opinion, the BBC conducted an interview with Pam Venning, the IAAF's chief medical officer, in the studio, with three other neutral guests present. The BBC affirmed: "Makwala shared with us that he is completely healthy and wants to compete from the bottom of his heart."

Explaining the whole matter, Ms Venning said: "Makwala actually went to our medical centre at the hotel for a check-up. A doctor there said that the Botswana athlete had a stomach-related illness."

"At that time, he tried to leave, but one of our staff held Makwala back because the gastroenteritis epidemic was spreading throughout the hotel, which was very dangerous for other athletes. Our duty was to ensure their health. While Makwala said that his symptoms were completely similar to other athletes who were infected," the IAAF's chief medical officer added.

Team Botswana told the BBC that they had assured Makwala that his heart rate and body temperature were normal. He had only vomited once, which was not enough to confirm that he had norovirus.

Pam Vennings affirmed that the IAAF medical department under her command had followed the principles, with the aim of ensuring the safety of other athletes during the spread of the virus. Photo: BBC.

But Venniing claimed that IAAF doctors had a different record of Makwala's health: "According to my doctors, Makwala had been vomiting continuously since 10pm the night before. At 2pm the next day he continued to vomit. That was Makwala's statement and it was recorded by the doctor."

"He was in the same hotel as other athletes who also had similar symptoms, and those players were confirmed to have the virus and were isolated. Under Public Health England regulations, we did not need to test further because the symptoms were enough to conclude."

However, the guest questioned whether the IAAF had acted too rigidly in the Makwala case. The IAAF's ambiguous handling of the matter had led to discontent among Makwala and his fans. "Not only was he not allowed to compete, he was confused as to why," the guest observed.

* Without Makwala, Van Niekerk easily won the 400m final.

“We needed to avoid the worst-case scenario,” Ms Venning stressed. When asked why she did not conduct a test to confirm whether Makwala had the virus or not, Venning replied: “To get the most accurate results, we had to send him to a specialist laboratory in Cambridge, take multiple samples. In total, the process took between 36 and 48 hours.”

Responding to questions about why the IAAF did not inform Makwala of the situation, forcing him to arrive at the stadium only to find out that he could not compete, the IAAF's chief medical officer continued: "My job is not related to that, but only to protect the health of the remaining athletes. In fact, we tried to contact the athletes as soon as possible, but the situation happened so urgently that there was no time."

However, most fans sided with Makwala in this noisy incident. They suspected that the IAAF doctors had exaggerated his symptoms.

"After Usain Bolt retired, the IAAF wanted to build a new icon in someone else," Makwala told the BBC, referring to Van Niekerk, who won the 400m in 43.98 seconds. At the Diamond League in Monaco last month, Makwala clocked 43.84 seconds.

* Van Niekerk beat Makwala at the Diamond League Monaco in July.

According to VNE