“Not sure I can handle 14 more days” – Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans moved to the Olympic Village after shuffling between quarantine facilities
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Kim Meylemans
Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans issued a tearful plea for help on Instagram before she was moved from an isolation facility in Beijing to the Olympic Village in Yanqing.
Meylemans, who’s set to compete at Beijing 2022, tested positive for COVID-19 upon landing in China on Sunday and was taken to a quarantine facility. Following this, the 25-year-old said on Wednesday that she felt safe after Belgium’s national Olympic committee and the International Olympic Committee stepped in to resolve the matter.
In an emotional video shared on Instagram on Wednesday, Meylemans said: “On the way to the village, we did not turn to the village, but the ambulance went to another facility where I am now.”
She added: “I am supposed to stay here for another seven days with two PCRs 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 return to the village.
“And 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.”
“Seems like video and efforts of my Olympic committee have really paid off”
Meylemans’ cry for help didn’t go in vain as it prompted the BOC and the IOC to intervene. Later, the officials confirmed that she had been taken to the second facility because there was no room for her in the village, according to BBC.
In a video later Wednesday, Meylemans said: “At 11:35 p.m. there was a knock on my door, and I was escorted to the Olympic Village. I’m now in a wing that’s just isolation, but at least I’m back in the village. I feel safe, and I’ll be able to train a little better here.”
She added, “It seems like the video and the efforts of my Olympic committee have really paid off.”
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Sachin Arora
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