Beijing - Kim Meyleman, women’s skeletal (skeleton is a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled) athlete from Belgium moved to Olympic village after tearful video in isolation.
Meyleman tested positive upon her arrival in Beijing and was moved to a three-day stay in isolation. She was hopeful of ending the isolation on Wednesday after she returned multiple negative tests. But when the ambulance that she thought was taking her to the village drove past, panic set in because she did not know what was happening.
A teary social-media post brought immediate attention, and hours later, Meylemans was transported to the village.
The scenario is one that had many questioning whether coming to the Beijing Games was worth it, with isolation — and for an indefinite period — a very real possibility for anyone testing positive in China, where zero tolerance for the coronavirus is the rule.
U.S. bobsledder Kaillie Humphries said that the aftermath of positive tests are confusing, frustrating and scary.
Meylemans’ story, at least this chapter of it, has a happy ending. She is where she wants to be and is expected to make the women’s skeleton field on Feb. 12. She has a reasonable chance of contending for a medal if she slides well.
The International Olympic Committee said her brief trip to a second isolation facility was caused by simple logistics, that no room in the village was ready for her. Others, like athlete advocate Rob Koehler, believe her social media post aided her cause.
Meylemans put her confusion on display for the world to see, her face and eyes red from crying, her words doing nothing to hide her fear and frustration over the unknown. She will still need twice-daily testing for a week before she can leave the isolation wing in the village.
“Our main goal was to get Kim to the Olympic Village in Yanqing as quickly as possible,” Belgian Olympic delegation leader Olav Spahl said. “We are therefore very pleased that this has now been successfully achieved. We understand that the COVID measures are necessary to safeguard the safety and health of participants in the Games, but we believe that the athlete should always be at the center of such an approach.”
IOC member Juan-Antonio Samaranch, who leads the committee overseeing preparations for the Beijing Games, told other members Thursday that “isolation centers’ quality has been dramatically improved” and that more improvements are still needed.
“Since there was no such room directly available, she was temporarily accommodated in a hotel close to the Olympic Village. It is a facility which is dedicated to close contacts in order for them to meet all the criteria to continue to train and compete,” the IOC said.
Meylemans finished 14th in her Olympic debut at Pyeongchang in 2018. She has one medal from World Cup races this season, a bronze, and placed no worse than sixth in five of the final six races on the circuit this season.
Official training for women’s skeleton starts next week.
-AP