Winter Olympics: positive Covid-19 test rules Norway cross-country skiing champion Krüger out of Games
- Simen Hegstad Krüger third member of country’s team to test positive for the coronavirus
- Relay world champion Heidi Weng and Anne Kjersti Kalva also questionable for Beijing Games
Two-time Olympic cross-country skiing champion Simen Hegstad Krüger has tested positive for the coronavirus and is virtually ruled out of the Games in Beijing, the Norwegian ski federation said.
Previously, relay world champion Heidi Weng and Anne Kjersti Kalva also returned positive test results and their participation in the Olympics is uncertain.
“It is incredibly sad. I have to say it’s not fun any more. It’s hard, very hard,” Espen Bjervig, the cross-country coach, said.
Krüger, who won gold in the 30km skiathlon and 4x10km relay in Pyeongchang in 2018, has no symptoms and is in quarantine.
However, in an extreme case, Krüger cannot fly to China for another 15 days, team doctor Oystein Andersen said. “It is an extreme situation. We have to limit the damage as best we can.”
The athlete was supposed to compete in the skiathlon on February 6.
Norway may suffer a further blow if Harald Ostberg Amundsen, who shared a room with Krüger, also returns a positive test. He is also in quarantine.
Covid-19 strikes Olympic hopefuls leaving their Beijing Games in doubt
Athletes who test positive shortly before the Olympics, which open on February 4, must submit a total of four negative tests to be allowed to enter China.
Norway’s cross-country team has been careful throughout the pandemic and skipped certain World Cup meetings this season to minimise infection risks.
The entire men’s team has been in isolation in Seiser Alm after head coach Arild Monsen tested positive for Covid-19 after returning to Norway at start of the week.
The team is planning to fly back to Norway on Sunday and then leave for Beijing on Monday, and it was still unclear whether Hegstad Kruger and Weng would be able to join them later.
