By Philip O’Connor
ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) – Norwegian cross-country skier Heidi Weng may decide against travelling to the Olympics if there is a risk she might end up in quarantine in China, her coach Ole Morten Iversen has said.
The 2014 bronze medallist and five-time world champion tested positive for COVID-19 following a recent training camp in Italy and is expected to come out of isolation on Thursday, the day before the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics.
However, Iversen told Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG) the 30-year-old may skip the Games altogether due to the possibility of her testing positive on arrival in China and ending up in quarantine again.
“Heidi is worried that she may get through the testing regime at home, but that it can still be caught here (in China). Then it’s about margins, the test methodology,” he told the newspaper in an interview in Zhangjiaku, where the cross-country events will be held.
“A test can be subtly positive, and then two hours later it is negative. Those who are going here will find themselves in that uncertainty. Heidi will not travel there if there is a risk that she ends up in a quarantine hotel,” he added.
Weng tested positive along with fellow skiers Anne Kjersti Kalvaa and Simen Hegstad Krueger, a double gold medallist in Pyeongchang, plus coach Arild Monsen following the training camp.
The COVID outbreak has taken its toll on the Norwegian team, traditionally a superpower in cross-country skiing that all of a sudden finds itself facing a very uncertain Olympics.
“I could have done without it,” Iversen said of the drama. “Now I’m insanely happy to be here — I was sure that the Olympics were over for me too. At the same time, the transmission paths for omicron are unfathomable,” he added.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by Ken Ferris)
