Uganda’s Olympic team members arrive at their hotel in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, on June 20. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Local officials are searching for a Ugandan athlete who went missing in western Japan on Friday in a case raising questions over Japanese organizers' oversight of Olympic participants amid local coronavirus concerns.
The missing 20-year-old Julius Ssekitoleko was training as part of the nine-member Ugandan team in Izumisano, Osaka prefecture, city officials said.
Teammates realized the athlete was absent around noon Friday when his saliva test sample was not delivered and they found his hotel room empty, city officials said. There was no training Friday morning and he was last seen in his room in the early hours of Friday.