Kimmey Meyleman was told that she had COVID by the Chinese-of course, she had
no idea until she arrived for the games as one of the Belgian athletes. They quarantined her in what looked like a rundown Motel Six and starved her with little to no meals.
Is this how the Communist plan on winning the games by weakening their opponents?
After many complaints she is now in a better room with better food, but this had to at
least shake her confidence before her competition.
Winter Olympics: IOC intervenes as tearful Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meyleman’s breaks down in ‘totally unacceptable’ Beijing 2022 isolation. Meyleman’s posts emotional video documenting her ordeal after being put in fresh quarantine facility instead of Olympic Village, despite negative PCR tests.
IOC statement says 25-year-old will be moved to single room in Village on Thursday
after outcry on social media. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has intervened after Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meyleman’s posted an emotional video on social media documenting her treatment in isolation ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
After testing positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in China, Meyleman’s said she was told
she could leave a quarantine hotel after three days of isolation — and multiple negative PCR tests.
But rather than return her to the Olympic Village, an ambulance took the 25-year-old
to another nearby facility for seven additional days of isolation, where she broke down
in tears on Wednesday as she recalled her ordeal from her room. The Global Athlete organization decried the treatment of Meyleman’s as “totally unacceptable”, with the
I.O.C. swiftly released a statement saying she will be given a room in the Olympic Village on Thursday.
“Hi everybody. Some of you have read the good news that I was sent out of the
isolation facility,” Meyleman’s said in her video. “We thought this would mean I was allowed to return to the Olympic Village and be treated maximum as a close contact.
“On the way to the Village we did not turn to the Village, but the ambulance went to another facility where I am now.
“I am supposed to stay here for another seven days with two PCRs [tests] a day and
no contact with anybody else. I am allowed to slide alone. We are not even sure I will
ever be allowed to enter the Village.”
Women’s skeleton official training heats begin on February 7 at the Yangqing National Sliding Centre, and competition starts on February 11. “Obviously this is very hard for me,”
Meyleman added. “So, I ask you all to give me some time to consider my next steps, because I’m not sure I can handle 14 more days and the Olympic competition being in this isolation.”
Beijing has imposed strict Covid-19 restrictions as part of its “closed-loop” policy for participants at the Winter Olympics. Rules state athletes who test positive must follow close contact protocols for seven days after posting two negative Covid-19 tests.
They can train and compete, and live in the Olympic Village, but need to be in a single room, eat alone, and be transported alone during that time period.
The IOC said Meyleman’s was put in another quarantine hotel “temporarily”
because “there was no such room directly available” at the Olympic Village.
“It is a facility which is dedicated to close contacts in order for them to meet all the criteria to continue to train and compete,” the statement read. “When the IOC learned about her personal situation after her arrival in the hotel, it took immediate contact with the NOC [National Organizing Committee] of Belgium to ensure that appropriate support is offered to her swiftly.
“A single room in the Olympic Village will be made available to her as of tomorrow.
The IOC stands ready to support the NOC and the athlete.”
Beijing 2022: Belgian Skeleton star Kim Meyleman’s to isolate at Olympic Village as emotional plea prompts IOC action – Eurosport Winter Olympics: Kim Meyleman’s, Belgian skeleton racer allowed to leave Beijing Covid isolation after emotional plea.
Winter Olympics athlete moved from COVID isolation facility after tearful plea for help | World News | Sky News
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What it Feels Like to Slide Downhill at 90 M.P.H. – YouTube
Olympic skeleton racer Kim Meyleman’s freed from Beijing isolation after a tearful plea.
The Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meyleman’s has been freed from an isolation facility
in Beijing following a plea for help in a tearful video posted on Instagram. Meyleman’s confirmed that she now felt “safe” at the Olympic village after the Belgian Olympic Committee and the IOC stepped in when they learned she had wrongly been
taken by ambulance to a second government facility and was told she would have to be isolated for 14 more days due to Covid-19 concerns. The Belgian tested positive for the virus upon her arrival in China, which meant she had to enter isolation and return
several negative tests before being cleared to move into the Yanqing Olympic village.
She thought that was happening on Wednesday and boarded an ambulance for what
she assumed was a ride to the village. “But the ambulance went to another facility,” Meyleman’s said in an Instagram post that quickly captured attention and raised
questions about how her mental health was being affected by the saga.
In a video update on Wednesday evening Meyleman’s, 25, added:
“At 11.35pm there was a knock on my door, and I was escorted to the Olympic village.”
I’m now in a wing that’s just isolated, but at least I’m back in the village.
I feel safe and I’ll be able to train a little better here.
“It seems like the video and the efforts of my Olympic Committee have really paid off.”
Meyleman’s was 14th in her debut Olympics at Pyeongchang in 2018.
But is expected to be more of a contender at the Beijing Games. She has one medal from World Cup races this season, a bronze, and was no worse than sixth in five of the final six races on the circuit this season.
“Relieved to hear that Kim Meyleman’s is now in the Olympic village,” International Olympic Committee Spokesman Christian Klaue tweeted. “We are glad that all the efforts led to the successful resolution of this situation.” Meylemans will now stay in an isolated room and still needs seven days of testing before she can be released from that wing.
However, she should be able to begin practice for the women’s skeleton, which starts next week, before the competition begins on 12 February. Earlier Rob Koehler, the director general of Global Athlete, an organization geared to helping athletes, called Meyleman’s treatment “totally unacceptable”.
“She should never have to endure these conditions,” he added.
“The IOC is failing athlete rights.”
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‘I Am More Than Just Another Positive COVID Test.’
SHENZHEN, China, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meyleman’s has made it to one of the Olympic villages after tearfully describing on Instagram her anguish over facing seven days of isolation at another site due to a COVID-19 scare on the way to the Games.
The 25-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 upon her arrival at the Beijing Olympics
and was taken to isolate, where she would need several tests before she would be allowed to enter the Olympic Village.
After a negative test she thought she would be allowed to head to Yanqing, she said in
the Instagram post, but the ambulance she boarded took her to another facility where she faced seven days of isolation.
“Obviously this is very hard for me so I ask you all to give me some time to consider my next steps because I’m not sure I can handle 14 more days and the Olympic competition while being in this isolation,” said Meyleman’s, who finished 14th in Pyeongchang four years ago.
When Belgian Olympic officials and the International Olympic Committee learned
of Meyleman’s situation, they then intervened to help have her moved to a site in the Olympic Village, the IOC said in statement.
In an update posted late on Wednesday, Meyleman’s said she was moved to an isolation wing inside one of the Olympic villages. “It seems like the video and especially also the efforts of my Olympic committee have really paid off,” Meyleman’s said, adding that she now felt safe and will be able to train better.
IOC spokesman Christian Klaue said on Twitter he was relieved Meyleman’s was now
in the Village and that he was glad “all the efforts led to the successful resolution of this situation”. Olav Spahl, Belgium’s Head of Mission Beijing 2022, said their priority was getting Meyleman’s to the Village as quickly as possible.
“We understand that COVID measures are necessary to preserve the safety and health
of participants in the Olympic Games, but we believe that in this approach, the athlete Just remain central,” said Spahl.
Official training for the women’s skeleton starts next week, ahead of the competition starting on Feb. 12.
Eleven Beijing Olympics-related personnel have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in
the Chinese capital since Jan. 23 out of a total of 232 positive cases, Brian McCloskey, chair of the Beijing 2022 medical expert panel, said on Wednesday.
BACK TO THE COMPETITION
BEIJING (Reuters) -Kamila Valieva was only seven years old when she watched her Russian compatriots win gold in the inaugural figure skating team event at the 2014
Sochi Games, dreaming that she would become an Olympic champion one day.
Eight years later, her dream came true.
The 15-year-old on Monday became the first woman to land quadruple jumps at the Olympics, helping the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to its second gold medal
of the Beijing Games.
“When I was three years old, I made a wish to become an Olympic champion,”
Valieva said after her free skate at Beijing’s Capital Indoor Stadium.
“My childhood dream has come true.”
Performing to Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero.”
Valieva beautifully executed a quadruple Salchow to open her free skate, then landed
a quad toe loop in combination before falling on another attempted quad toe loop.
Although she was pleased about her gold medal with the team, Valieva said she still needed to fine-tune her free skate to land her second quad toe loop during the singles event.
Valieva is favorite to win gold in the women’s event, which would continue the line of phenomenal Russian teenage skaters at the Olympics.
“The first Olympics I watched were the Sochi Games,” she said. “I remember that I especially liked Yulia Lipnitskaya’s free skate. Then the Olympics were in Korea (Pyeongchang), where I cheered for Evgenia (Medvedeva) and Alina (Zagitova). And now it’s my turn to experience such emotions.”
QUADS FOR THE PODIUM
Valieva and teammates Alexandra Trusova and Anna Shcherbakova are coached by
Eteri Tutberidze, known for raising young skaters with an unmatched ability to perform intricate elements.
The Russian teen trio’s training regimen is a mystery, but Ithaca College biomechanics expert Deborah King said the young women’s smaller stature could be helping with their jumps.
“Being fairly petite helps,” she said.
“Narrow shoulders, hips … so not having matured yet can help because that’s going to help your rotation speed a lot.” She added, however, that a quad jump requires height and a quick rotation, which in turn requires spring and power.
Canadian Kurt Browning landed the first quadruple toe loop in 1988, and the last quad
to be conquered was the quadruple loop in 2016, by Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu. “It wouldn’t surprise me if this was an Olympics where all the ladies on the podium did quads, which would be huge,” King said.
15-year-old sensation Kamila Valieva “perfect” in Olympic debut | Winter Olympics 2022 | NBC Sports
Kamila Valieva becomes first woman EVER to land Olympic quad | Winter Olympics 2022 | NBC Sports
An American star competed at the Olympics days after losing her vision in one eye from a brutal wipeout.