Yohan Blake: 'I would rather miss the Olympics than take the Covid vaccine'

Olympic champion sprinter Yohan Blake insists he would rather miss the Tokyo Games than receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

“My mind still stays strong, I don’t want any vaccine, I’d rather miss the Olympics than take the vaccine, I am not taking it,” he was quoted as saying in Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner. “I don’t want to get into it now, but I have my reasons.” 

However, Blake, a one-time rival of Jamaican great Usain Bolt, will likely still be able to participate in Japan this summer as the International Olympic Committee said that taking the vaccine is “encouraged” but not compulsory for athletes.

“Follow your mind, don’t follow the crowd,” the two-time Olympic gold medalist said in a video posted to Twitter on Saturday.

“At the same time, be respectful to each and every one. Don’t let no one take away your choice.” 

Blake’s remarks came after a series of eight meets were held across the Caribbean island nation on Saturday, marking a return to large-scale sporting events that had been on hold due to the pandemic.

The Olympics, which were pushed back by a year due to the global health crisis, are set to begin on July 23.