Olympian finally in the village: Tearful cry for help has the desired effect

Olympian finally in the village
Tearful call for help has the desired effect

The first training sessions in skeleton will take place on Monday, but for Kim Meylemans the Olympics feel like a disaster. After a positive corona test on arrival, the Belgian has to be in isolation and doesn’t know what’s happening to her. And finally arrives at the Olympic Village late in the evening.

The skeleton rider Kim Meylemans, who tested positive for Corona on arrival, was brought to the Olympic village in Yanqing after a turbulent day. This was announced by the National Olympic Committee of Belgium. Meylemans confirmed this in her Instagram story: “It seems that the video and the efforts of the National Olympic Committee were worth it.” A video of the athlete had previously caused a stir when she tearfully reported on her experiences in China.

The 25-year-old is now in the Olympic village, as the Belgian team announced. There she will be housed in a separate room and tested twice a day. She can also train in isolation on the track. “We absolutely understand Kim’s reaction. Our main concern was to get Kim to the Olympic village as soon as possible, so we are very happy that it happened,” said Olav Spahl, Chef de Mission of Team Belgium.

Meylemans had tested positive after arriving in Beijing on Sunday. After a negative, a third test was positive again, after which she was taken to a quarantine hotel. After she was allowed to leave this accommodation on Wednesday, she was first taken to another quarantine place, from where she reported tearfully about her state of mind. “I don’t know if I can last another 14 days at the Olympics if I’m in quarantine,” she said.

Meylemans, who was born in Germany and competes for Belgium, gave an emotional account of her initially opaque fate. After the negative tests, she assumed “I should now be able to go to the Olympic Village”. But: “The ambulance drove to another facility,” apparently without being informed about how to proceed. “My federation was also surprised by the decision,” said Meylemans, while fearing that she would no longer be allowed to move to the Olympic Village at all. A few hours later, she reported that just before midnight Chinese time, “there was a knock at my door” and she was “escorted to the Olympic Village.”

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