Mikaela Shiffrin is latest elite skier to test positive for Covid-19, but said she will return early in the new year
- Two-time Olympic champion made the announcement on social media, saying she was ‘doing well’ and will be back early in 2022
- The positive result comes just six week out from the Beijing Games
Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin is the latest elite skier to test positive for Covid-19 with the Beijing Games less than six weeks away.
“I wanted to let you all know that I’m doing well, but unfortunately I had a positive COVID test,” the American wrote on her social media accounts Monday. “I’m following protocol and isolating.”
Shiffrin said she will miss World Cup giant slalom and slalom races scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, in Lienz, Austria, adding, “I’ll see you in the new year.”
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Missing the races in Lienz is a big hit to Shiffrin’s chances of regaining the overall World Cup title. She leads Italy’s Sofia Goggia by 115 points in the standings but needs to maintain a high level of points in the technical disciplines of giant slalom and slalom since Goggia has been unbeatable in the speed events of downhill and super-G.
Shiffrin’s positive test comes at a particularly bad time for her with six consecutive technical races scheduled.
Other top skiers who have missed races recently after testing positive for Covid-19 include former overall champion Lara Gut-Behrami, Austrian world champion Katharina Liensberger and Alice Robinson of New Zealand.
Maryna Gąsienica-Daniel, the Polish skier who finished sixth in two giant slaloms in Courchevel, France, last week, also announced a positive test on Monday. She said on Instagram that she is “isolated at home,” and will miss the races in Lienz.
The Beijing Olympics open on February 4.