Japanese police found the missing Ugandan weightlifter last week

Pur Godfrey Ulukiya

TOKYO, July 20 (Reuters) – Japanese police have found Julius Siketoliko, a Ugandan weightlifter, who disappeared last week while in the country for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

According to authorities, Sekitoliko, 20, did not attend for a COVID-19 test on Friday and was not found in his hotel room in the Japanese capital.

Tom Kato, a sports official in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, said he reportedly left a note saying he intended to find a job in Japan and leave hardships back home.

See also: So far, 71 people accredited to the Tokyo Olympics have tested positive for COVID-19

“We received information that the police found today the Ugandan weightlifter who disappeared from the Olympic Village on Friday,” Kato told Anadolu Agency.

He added that the police reportedly found Sekitoliko in Mie Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo.

Before his disappearance, he was said to have been in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, to participate in a pre-Olympic training camp there.

Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee CEO Toshiro Muto said it was a “very confusing” case and said the host organization would study potential penalties against the player once the details of what happened were clarified.

Strict regulations in place to celebrate the Games prohibit athletes or other event participants from traveling anywhere other than their hotel, training venue, or locations previously approved by the organization.

* Maria Paula Trevino contributed to this note.

Anadolu Agency website contains only part of the news stories presented to subscribers on the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summary.