Cross-country skiing-COVID fears cloud medal hopes in Norway camp

ZHANGJIAKOU, China : They may have more Winter Olympic medals than any other nation, but a succession of positive COVID-19 tests in the camp has left Norway clinging to the hope that their athletes can make it to the start lines at the Beijing Games, never mind the podiums.

Every day seems to bring a new story of a Norwegian positive test or a close contact, with several athletes in isolation and several more who haven't even made it to China from Europe yet.

"It's for sure been some tough, tough days lately, but now we're here and just looking forward to racing," cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo, who took home three gold medals at the 2018 Olympics, told reporters.

"Just being here now and being together with teammates and trying to find this race mode again, it's probably the best way to get into the right mental situation."

It won't be easy.

On Thursday news broke that Jarl Magnus Riiber, widely tipped as a shoo-in to medal in the Nordic combined, had tested positive for COVID-19, and Saturday's cross-country skiathlon will see the Norwegian women short of a full complement of four racers, with only three nominated to start.

"It's not the ideal start of the championships, it's been some hectic days and a lot of nerves and chaos, but it will go more and more back to normal in the next few days," Riiber's teammate Jens Oftebro told Reuters.

Oftebro explained how news that Estonian athlete Kristjan Elves, who trains with the Norwegians, had tested positive was the beginning of a run of bad luck for the Norway camp.

POSITIVE TESTS

"I was feeling good when we arrived here, but then the first positive test with Kristjan came and then Jarl, we don't know if there's any positive more positive tests, so we just hope for the