Winter Olympics: Covid-19 positives leave Norway camp reeling with Beijing 2022 medal hopes in balance
- Norway has more Winter Olympic medals than any other nation, but several of its top stars have fallen foul of Covid protocols
- Camp clinging to hope their athletes can make it to start lines at Beijing 2022 Games, never mind the podiums
They may have more Winter Olympic medals than any other nation, but a succession of positive Covid-19 tests in the camp has left Norway clinging to the hope their athletes can make it to the start lines at the Beijing Games, never mind the podiums.
Every day seems to bring a new story of a Norwegian positive test or a close contact, with several athletes in isolation and several more who haven’t even made it to China from Europe yet.
“It’s for sure been some tough, tough days lately, but now we’re here and just looking forward to racing,” cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo, who took home three gold medals at the 2018 Olympics, told reporters.
“Just being here now and being together with teammates and trying to find this race mode again, it’s probably the best way to get into the right mental situation.”
It won’t be easy.
On Thursday news broke that Jarl Magnus Riiber, widely tipped as a shoo-in to medal in the Nordic combined, had tested positive for Covid-19, and Saturday’s cross-country skiathlon will see the Norwegian women short of a full complement of four racers, with only three nominated to start.