SkeletonBeijing 2022
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For many athletes, as in the case of the Norwegian combinatorial Riiber, the Beijing Games risk turning into a nightmare in case of positivity at Covid 19. A clear example is the story of the Belgian Kim Meylemans, who will compete in the skeleton, forced to extra isolation afterwards. three molecular swabs tested negative.
Thursday 3 February 2022 4 minutes reading time
The unknown Covid-19 we all knew that it could and could cause numerous defections in this edition of the Olympic Games. In the last few hours the star of the men's Nordic combined has been positive, that is the Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber, favorite number one for the gold medal, who in all probability will have to give up the combined noridca competitions; breathlessness also for the biathlete Johannes Boe and for the biathlete Ingrid Tandervold, present on the same flight to Beijing as Riiber.
Bad news also in the United States, with the hobbyist Elana Meyers-Taylor tested positive for a swab carried out on her arrival in the Chinese territory. The thirty-seven-year-old American, in search of the first Olympic gold of her career, had also been designated as standard-bearer for the stars and stripes expedition, a role that she will not be able to fill reluctantly due to her positivity. In a video, Meyers told her story and her situation in one of the several Covid Hotels set up to host athletes and staff who tested positive for the swab. The American hobbyist will have to give up the mono-bob race, where she would have been the main favorite for the final victory.
An even heavier situation, however, for the Belgian Kim Meylemans, who will compete in the skeleton. Meylemans, who tested positive on her arrival in China, was immediately isolated in a Covid Hotel; once tested negative to three molecular swabs she thought she could stay in the Olympic village, instead she was transported by ambulance to another facility used to house positive athletes. The young Belgian athlete fell into a state of despair, as witnessed by her video appeal that appeared on social media; the IOC took over Meylemans' concerns, immediately contacting the Belgian Olympic Committee, and having the athlete in question transferred to the Olympic village, where a single room was reserved for her to end the period of semi-isolation (the athlete he can only go out to reach the competition fields and he will have to move and eat in solitude).
Developments are also expected on the Norwegian cross-country skiing team: Heidi Weng is still positive, in isolation at the Alpe di Siusi, and has stated that he could decide, even if negative, not to leave for Beijing, to avoid ending up in a Covid Chinese hotel, in case of positive swab upon arrival in China. At the moment, no other cases of positivity have emerged between the men's team and the Chinese women's team.
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