Beijing (AP) – In 2018 Eric Frenzel carried the German flag to the Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang, four years later the former gold hero witnessed the opening of the Beijing Games in quarantine.
The three-time Olympic champion in Nordic combined and his teammate Terence Weber had to go to an isolation hotel shortly before the start of the Winter Games in China after post-tests on Friday confirmed their corona infection.
Four other German athletes from the ice hockey team and the skeleton selection who initially tested positive the day before when they entered the country received a negative result at the second attempt, as the German Olympic Sports Confederation announced on Friday.
Frenzel and Weber were separated from the combined team. “Both athletes are doing well given the circumstances,” said German team doctor Bernd Wolfarth. The DOSB announced that there were no other cases of contact. “Not the start I was hoping for here in Beijing! – Covid positive,” Frenzel wrote on Instagram for a photo of himself with an FFP2 mask, on which he looks questioningly. “Then let’s hope for the best to get out of isolation here pretty soon,” he added.
Four confirmed corona cases
Figure skater Nolan Seegert has been the first German corona case among the athletes in Beijing in the quarantine hotel since Wednesday. With a delay, his pair skating partner Minerva Hase was also officially classified as a contact person. She was separated from the team in the Olympic village, but is allowed to continue training individually. Another member of the figure skating team is also considered a so-called close contact.
The number of German corona cases that were also confirmed by follow-up tests has risen to four. A supervisor from the DOSB delegation had previously tested positive. According to the organizers, the total number of corona cases detected on entry and in the Olympic bubble has been 308 since January 23.
Anyone who contracted the virus at the Beijing Olympics will be isolated in a specially designated hotel. Only after two negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart can those affected leave before the end of ten days. After this period, only a negative PCR test is required.
“The concept is being implemented very well. A high level of security is offered. We have a good feeling,” said Olympic doctor Wolfarth. The German Chef de Mission Dirk Schimmelpfennig also assured that the countermeasures against the corona virus in the closed Olympic bubble were “consistent and successful”.
“In the end, the following also applies: Safety first”
In Nordic combined, the series of corona cases just before the opening does not stop. On Thursday, the positive test of top favorite Jarl Magnus Riiber from Norway became public, who was previously considered the contact person for Estonian podium candidate Kristjan Ilves, who was also infected.
Now the German Ski Association with record world champions Frenzel and Weber is also affected. The two are the best German combined athletes this season behind Vinzenz Geiger. The experienced Frenzel has been more consistent this winter than he has been in a long time. In addition, the 33-year-old is considered a major event expert. At the last winter games in South Korea he won two gold and one bronze. Weber won the World Cup in Ruka, Finland in November and is particularly strong on the ski jump.
The first individual in Zhangjiakou will take place for the protégés of national coach Hermann Weinbuch next Wednesday. In any case, Frenzel and Weber lose valuable training time if they are able to participate at all. “The playbook envisages a return to the team,” explained Wolfarth, adding: “It remains to be seen whether they can return to the sport. In the end, safety first also applies.”