COVID kept her out of the Tokyo Games…but now Coco Gauff has her Olympic moment

PARIS — Coco Gauff was packing her bags for Tokyo three years ago when the then 17-year-old American tennis star told of the COVID-19 test that Olympic officials required of every athlete before they were allowed to board their flight.

To her horror, the test was positive.

When Gauff revealed the heartbreaking news, U.S. Olympic tennis coach Kathy Rinaldi told her to take another test to double check. It also came back positive, meaning Gauff had to withdraw from the Olympics and postpone a childhood dream.

“It was very disappointing,” Gauff recalled Thursday. “I felt very sad, but it was out of my control. I knew I wouldn’t be the only athlete who would miss it because of it, unfortunately.”

Three years later, Gauff, 20, is making up for lost time. Not only has she arrived in Paris as a threat to win gold in the women’s singles event, she will also serve as flag bearers for the U.S. Olympic team alongside LeBron James at a first-of-its-kind opening ceremony on the iconic Seine River on Friday.

Earlier this week, as she and doubles partner Jessica Pegula debated who to nominate for the honor of carrying the American flag, Gauff was left speechless. Pegula laughed as she described how Gauff told her, “Who are we going to pick? It’s definitely not going to be any of us.”

When fellow American tennis player Chris Eubanks told Gauff that he planned to nominate her, Gauff laughed at the idea that she was worthy. “There had never been a tennis player chosen before,” she said, “and I didn’t think that I would be that player.”

Eubanks, a longtime friend of Gauff’s, didn’t feel that way. He campaigned for the world No. 2 female player and reigning US Open champion on more than just her impressive tennis credentials.

“I think it’s not just what she brings to the game, but to the world as a whole,” Eubanks said. “We’ve seen her be very vocal about the things that she cares about.”

Gauff had already forgotten about the flag-bearer nominations on Tuesday when, out of nowhere, Eubanks made an impromptu speech about her to the other members of the U.S. tennis team. Embarrassed and confused, Gauff joked that she was “already planning on calling him names” for showering her with compliments in front of everyone.

Annoyance gave way to shock when Eubanks gave Gauff a cream-colored jacket to wear during the opening ceremony and revealed that she had been chosen as the flag bearer. Gauff choked back tears as her teammates clapped and cheered her on as she pulled on her jacket. She then retreated to a quiet corner of the room to call her mother, and the tears and emotions came pouring out.

“I know it’s a memory I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Gauff said.

Carrying the American flag with James only makes the moment sweeter. Gauff, who grew up in Florida, has been a fan of James since he starred for the Miami Heat when she was in elementary school.

Gauff’s tennis teammates tried to stand next to James on the boat. They also wanted Gauff to ask James for pins that athletes trade during the Olympics to collect as many variations as possible.

“I’ll try to ask him,” Gauff said before the ceremony. “But I don’t know. I’m a little scared.”

Although Gauff had never met James before, her selection as the youngest-ever U.S. flag bearer made her a celebrity in the Olympic Village. Even Simone Biles approached Gauff to say she was excited for her.

“Honestly, when I was walking around town last night, so many people came up to me and congratulated me,” Gauff said. “Even a couple of people who were on Team USA who I think voted for me and I didn’t know, they were like, ‘Yeah, I was one of the people who nominated you and we couldn’t have asked for a better person.’”

Gauff wasn’t the only American athlete whose dreams of winning a medal in Tokyo were dashed after testing positive for COVID. Golfer Bryson DeChambeau was also a COVID casualty, as were basketball player Bradley Beal, former world pole vault champion Sam Kendricks, beach volleyball player Taylor Crabb and gymnast Kara Eaker.

The only other of the six who is accompanying Gauff to this Olympics isn’t exactly thrilled about it. Kendricks remains convinced his test in Tokyo was a false positive because he had no symptoms, but he insisted last month at the U.S. Track & Field Trials that he “may not even” go to Paris if he qualified.

“I don’t like the Olympics,” he said. “The Olympics screwed me. Everyone on Team USA screwed me.”

When asked if he was serious about declining the invitation, Kendricks said, “Absolutely, why not?”

“I got thrown out the first time,” the Mississippi native added. “Why couldn’t they do it again if they didn’t like me? Maybe I’m just bitter.”

Kendricks’ demeanor softened after he won the national men’s pole vault title at the Olympic Trials with a meet-record leap of 19 feet, 5 inches. He arrives in Paris as one of the few potential challengers to favorite Mondo Duplantis, the pole vault world record holder and two-time reigning world champion.

There is no lingering bitterness about Tokyo from Gauff, not before the flag-bearer announcement and certainly not after. Her only concern was to find out what was expected of her during Friday night’s opening ceremony.

Would she and James both hold a flag? Would they both carry the same flag? Did she have other responsibilities? She said she had been poring over photos and videos from previous opening ceremonies for clues. Her biggest concern, she joked, was the “height difference,” since she is 5-foot-11 and James is 6-foot-9.

Compared to three years ago, these were good problems to have.

“Of course I wanted to compete in Tokyo,” Gauff said, “but it makes this moment a lot sweeter.”