The Pro Cyclist Who Caught Covid Twice

Back in February, when the sports world was still wondering how severe an outbreak of something called Covid-19 might be, a Colombian cyclist named Fernando Gaviria was finding out for himself. Gaviria was doing his job, racing bikes in the United Arab Emirates, when he became one of the first international athletes to contract the coronavirus. The symptoms were harsh enough to land him in hospital for two weeks. “Back then we knew very little about the virus,” he wrote in an email. By the time Gaviria was healthy enough to leave Abu Dhabi, his world was a more uncertain place. The sports calendar had been scrubbed. Entire countries were shutting down. But Gaviria’s virus ordeal seemed to come with a personal silver lining. Prevailing wisdom suggested he’d at least be immune for the foreseeable future. That future lasted barely seven months. In October, Gaviria tested positive a second time. His reaction was sheer disbelief. “I was completely asymptomatic and felt OK,” he wrote.