Dutch skateboarder catches Covid and fumes at 'inhuman' quarantine

‘I was eventually allowed to stand next to an open window for 15 minutes, supervised’: Dutch skateboarder fumes at the ‘inhuman’ conditions in quarantine after catching Covid in Tokyo and having to MISS the Olympics

  • Candy Jacobs, 31, left the Olympic Village after testing positive for Covid
  • She missed the street event in skateboarding’s Olympic debut  
  • In the quarantine facility ‘the windows are closed. The doors don’t open – ever’ 
  • Team Netherlands went on strike for eight hours to ‘make a statement’   
  • Find out the latest Tokyo Olympic news including schedule, medal table and results right here

Dutch skateboarder Candy Jacobs, 31, has tested positive for Covid-19 and was pulled from the Olympics – days after calling quarantine conditions ‘inhuman’

A Dutch skateboarder spent eight days locked in a room without windows after testing positive for Covid-19 and having to withdraw from the Olympics. 

Candy Jacobs, 31, posted an Instagram video on Wednesday after missing the street event in skateboarding’s debut as an Olympic sport.

‘Not having any outside air is so inhuman,’ said Jacobs, who’s ranked No. 8 in the world for women’s street skateboarding.

‘It’s mentally super draining, first of all to have your dreams splattered… it’s definitely more than a lot of humans can handle,’ she said in the three-minute video.

Jacobs was removed from the Olympic Village after testing positive for Covid and put in a quarantine facility for people at the Tokyo Games infected with the virus.

Dutch technical director Maurits Hendriks described the conditions as ‘very distressing’ at a news conference after the skater’s dreams had been shattered.

‘It’s not what you expect from the Japanese organisation when it comes to isolation,’ he added. 

Jacobs has been locked in a small space where ‘nothing opens – the windows are closed. The doors don’t open – ever’.

Jacobs and her team had to strike for a total of eight hours for officials to allow them 15 minutes of supervised fresh air away from their rooms, where the windows don’t open

On day seven of isolation, she said Team Netherlands ‘had to make a statement.

‘We didn’t move until something happened.’

The team went on strike for a total of eight hours for officials to allow Jacobs 15 minutes of supervised fresh air away from her room.

‘Having that first breath of outside air was the saddest and best moment in my life,’ Jacobs said. 

Jacobs was ‘heartbroken’ she didn’t get a chance to compete on Monday, especially after recovering from knee surgery earlier this year.

‘Luckily, we’ve been following the protocols so my fellow skateboarders still get to shine bright,’ she said on Instagram.

Jacobs praised 13-year-old gold medalist Momiji Nishiya of Japan and said watching the event on TV was ‘a super-cool distraction’ from quarantine. 

‘This ride has been the wildest I have ever been on and hopefully never have to go through something like this again,’ she said, adding that she’s still testing positive for Covid-19.

Jacobs signed off and said: ‘The next time you see me I’ll be doing kickflips in my home park. Much love.’  

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