Shortly before the official start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing with the opening ceremony on Friday (February 4th, 2022), Frenzel and Weber tested positive. This was confirmed by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). Both athletes are currently in isolation at a hotel in Beijing.
Is it a fresh infection?
The exact classification should now be important. Is it a fresh infection with a correspondingly lengthy isolation? Or was a “legacy” discovered that may no longer show up in subsequent tests?
The Nordic Combined competitions start on Wednesday (February 9th, 2022), a start by Frenzel and Weber seems impossible here. The first competition would thus become a farce: Because top favorite Jarl Magnus Riiber (Norway) and Estonian Kristjan Ilves also tested positive, only three of the top seven athletes in the overall World Cup are left.
Tested positive upon entry
Frenzel and Weber landed in China on Thursday (02/03/2022). A total of six team members had tested positive after their flight. The re-tests confirmed Frenzel’s and Weber’s results.
“The suspected athletes had already been separated from their sub-teams. Currently there are no so-called close contacts between the two.”it said in the statement from the DOSB: “The four other suspected cases from the skeleton and ice hockey sub-teams have not been confirmed after two re-tests.”