COVID-19 is already throwing a wrench into plans for Team USA, a week before the 2022 Winter Olympics begin.
Multiple members of the United States bobsled and skeleton team have tested positive for the virus, Yahoo Sports reported on Friday night.
Bobsledder Josh Williamson announced Wednesday in an Instagram post that he had tested positive for COVID-19 last Sunday, but he is reportedly not the only one. There is at least one other athlete, in addition to multiple coaches and support staff, who tested positive, according to Yahoo. A team official confirmed to the website that there were multiple positive tests but did not specify details.
“It’s all a nightmare,” one athlete told Yahoo Sports.
Williamson said in his Instagram post that while he was not able to fly to Beijing with Team USA, there were later flights that he could get on once he returns multiple negative tests. The Olympics officially begin Friday but bobsled training runs don’t begin until Feb. 10.
The team official told Yahoo that “at this time, [the federation] still expect everyone to go to Beijing.” What could complicate matters is anyone who tested positive will need four straight days of negative PCR tests and a fifth-day buffer before they can depart for Beijing.
Team USA won the silver medal in two-woman bobsled in 2018. Elana Meyers Taylor, who won the silver with Lauren Gibbs, tweeted on Thursday that she had made it to Beijing and passed her first COVID-19 test.
