(Reuters) – Russian biathlon coach Sergei Bashkirov tested positive for COVID-19 upon arriving in Beijing for the Winter Olympics, the Russian Biathlon Union said on Thursday.
“He (Bashkirov) is in quarantine in Beijing,” Sergei Averyanov, spokesperson for the Russian Biathlon Union, wrote on Telegram messenger. “We are waiting for the result of a second test.”
Biathletes Irina Kazakevich and Valeria Vasnetsova, as well as coach Mikhail Sashilov and massage therapist Roman Nikitin, tested negative but were unable to fly to Beijing with the rest of the team, the sport’s national governing body said.
Their departure has been delayed by at least a day so they can submit additional documents required to take part in the Games.
“They will need additional documents confirming they have been previously infected with COVID to enter China,” the Russian Biathlon Union said in a statement.
Several Russian athletes, including figure skater Mikhail Kolyada and skeleton racer Nikita Tregubov, tested positive for the coronavirus before travelling to China. While Kolyada has been ruled out of the Games, Tregubov is hoping to recover in time so that he can still travel to the Chinese capital.
At the Beijing Games, 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 Pritha Sarkar)
