Polish speed skater reveals ‘horror’ Covid-19 experience at Beijing Winter Olympics

Short track speed skater Natalia Maliszewska is preparing to compete in the women’s 1,000m singles event and 4,000m relay semi-final tomorrow at the Beijing Olympics.

While she could be looking at a spot in the team final with Poland, the 26-year-old’s time at the Games has been far from an easy one.

Maliszewska endured a rollercoaster of emotions as her place at the 2022 Olympics hung in the balance due to a nightmare Covid-19 experience.

On January 30th, the speed skater tested positive for the virus and her participation at the Games was voided.

After being sent to isolate before flying home, Maliszewska was surprised just hours before her scheduled 500m qualifying race. At 3am, she was woken up by hotel employees wearing cameras on their belts and taken from her room before being ushered into the back of an ambulance with little explanation.

The alarming nature of the situation left Maliszewska confused, fearful of her safety, and “crying like crazy.”

The “traumatic” series of events left the former European champion shaken and she admitted she slept in her clothes out of fear of being disturbed and moved again.

“That night was a horror. I slept in my clothes because I was afraid that someone would take me back to solitary in a moment,” she told Eurosport.

Maliszewska took another Covid-19 test after being removed from isolation and the results were positive. However, she was still told she could compete in the 500m heats that evening.

After preparing for the event in which she is ranked third in the world, the skater was given another change of direction and informed she in fact could not compete after all.

“I got the message like half [an] hour before I was going to warm up that they made a mistake,” Maliszewska