MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian skeleton racer Nikita Tregubov, silver medallist at the 2018 Winter Olympics, has tested positive for COVID-19 before his team is set to fly to China to compete in the Beijing Games next month, his coach said.
Speaking to RIA news agency, coach Danil Chaban said Tregubov, 26, had twice tested positive for the virus during a training camp in Sochi in southern Russia and that he was now in quarantine.
“Today or tomorrow Nikita will be tested for the coronavirus again,” RIA quoted Chaban as saying. “We hope that the result will be negative and we will see how the situation develops.”
Chaban added that it was still unclear whether Tregubov would need to be replaced but that Evgeny Rukosuev was ready step in if needed.
The Russian skeleton team is scheduled to fly to Beijing on Jan. 31.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Russian Figure Skating Federation said Mikhail Kolyada would miss next month’s Beijing Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19 and be replaced with Evgeny Semenenko.
At the Beijing Games, which run from Feb. 4-20, Russians will be competing as representatives of the Russian Olympic Committee without their flag or anthem because of doping sanctions.
(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
