Constant COVID tests are scaring Olympians in case they're positive and are forbidden from competing

• Anxiety is rife in the athlete's village during the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
• That's according to gold medal-winning weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines.
• Constant COVID testing and uncertainty about results are elevating athlete fears, Diaz said.

Constant COVID-19 tests are scaring Olympic athletes in case they're positive and are forbidden from competing at the ongoing Tokyo Games.

That's according to Filipino weightlifting hero Hidilyn Diaz, who recently broke down and said she planned to "eat a lot" after winning her country's first Olympic gold medal Monday.

After winning the 55-kilogram Olympic title, Diaz gave an insight into what athletes in the village are experiencing when it comes to the mental game ahead of their events.

Competing during the coronavirus pandemic appears to provide new challenges for athletes because they are in a state of uncertainty brought on by the constant COVID tests.

The unknown - whether they continue to be negative for the coronavirus, or have tested positive - brings great anxiety, according to Diaz.

"For me, it's like, you know, coming here, we have to do the test, and then, every day we have to do the test and it's like every day that we have the saliva test, I have the anxiety if we are positive or negative," Diaz told the official Olympics website.

"We don't know if we have the virus," the 30-year-old said. "So, you know, the anxiety is so high and I cannot be happy until I compete on the day of my competition.

"For me, every day in the athlete's village, I'm really like a robot. I have to be like 'stay away from this.'"

Diaz said as athletes they try to keep going and follow protocols, but they cannot escape the high levels of anxiety of not knowing whether a test is going to come back positive or negative, and potentially scupper their dreams of vying for the podium.