Stomach upset, the doctor assessed the cause

Stomach disease forced Krista Pärmäkoski and Jasmi Joensuu to stop the Tour de Ski. According to the information of the Finnish doctor, the other teams had the same disease from the beginning of the week.

Krista Pärmäkoski canceled the Tour de Ski due to a stomach bug on Saturday. Jasmi Joensuu experienced the same fate already on Friday.

In addition to the skiers, one person belonging to the background team has fallen ill. The coronavirus test for all three was negative.

Working as a doctor for the cross country team at the Tour Janne Pesonen says that there are guesses about the source of the disease.

– According to rumours, the German team already had these (disease) cases in Oberstdorf. However, these are hearsay. You can never be sure.

Finland stayed in Val Müstair and now in Val di Fiemme in small hotels with hardly any other guests.

Skiing took place in Oberstdorf on Tuesday and Wednesday. In the German settlement, the hotel was a larger complex where several national teams were present.

Do Finnish skiers go to hotel buffets?

– Meals are arranged with the hotels. It was the same in Oberstdorif. I can’t say for sure if there were any Germans in the hotel then. I think not.

Krista Pärmäkoski’s successful Tour was interrupted by illness. Jussi Saarinen

After getting sick, the national team has improved hand hygiene and tried to avoid contact. Skiers wear face masks, some also wear rubber gloves.

Kerttu Niskanen was the only one of the top three in Saturday’s race to wear a mask at the award ceremony.

– Stomach diseases are transmitted specifically through surfaces. Stomach bugs are often “eaten”. We try to avoid places where there could be secretions. At race venues, shared toilets are avoided as much as possible, says Pesonen.

– Things are done as carefully as possible. A touch of luck is also needed.

The skiers are staying in their own rooms Markus Vuorelaa and Lauri Lepistö except for. The two wanted to share a room.

Finland will not change hotels for the rest of the Tour.

– Every hotel here is so full that we cannot change. Val di Fiemme has a lot of teams and people. We are not alone.

Infections in the groin?

Already at the Oberstdorf Games, according to rumors, there were cases of stomach flu. Jussi Saarinen

Ville Ahonen interrupted the ski tour earlier due to the coronavirus infection.

The team is not tested regularly, as in the early days of the corona pandemic, but as needed. Other skiers’ coronavirus tests have been negative.

Pesonen hopes that the skiers still competing in the Tour will stay healthy until they return home.

– When people get sick, we try to get the infections isolated so they don’t spread like wildfire. Many times after the first cases, there can be more infections in clusters before the chain of infection can be broken.

– There are two days left of the Tour. I hope you won’t get sick now, or on the way back.

The Tour de Ski culminates in the final ascent in Val di Fiemme on Sunday. There are still Finns on the tour Kerttu Niskanen, Anne Kyllönen, Perttu Hyvärinen and Markus Vuorela.

Jasmi Joensuu got sick before the sprint. Jussi Saarinen

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