Jakarta, Indonesia, April 17, 2020: Indonesian sport was mourning the passing of Olympic swimmer and sports official Lukman Niode from COVID-19 on Friday. He was 56.
Lukman had been treated at Pelni Hospital in Jakarta since Wednesday because of a pulmonary nodule. However, kompas.com reported that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
“He underwent a swab test at the hospital on Wednesday and the result came out positive, even though two previous tests at a different hospital showed negative results,” Lukman’s brother, Idrus Niode, said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com.
Youth and Sports Ministry secretary Gatot S. Dewa Broto confirmed the death of the former athlete.
“We are deeply sorry to hear about the death of Lukman Niode, who was one of our prominent athletes in the swimming field,” Gatot said on Friday.
Lukman was a gold medalist at the 1983 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore and participated in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Following his retirement from the sport he became an official at the National Sports Council (KONI) and played a big part in the organisation of the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang in 2018.
KONI head Marciano Norman expressed his condolences.
“Indonesia has lost one of its greatest swimming athletes who changed our history thanks to his excellent achievements,” Marciano said in a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Tributes also came from the International Olympians Association, MEMOS alumni and former swim team members at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California.
