Skeleton racer Kim Meylemans has been freed from isolation following an emotional video posted to Instagram ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics
Belgian star Meylemans confirmed she now feels ‘safe’ at the Olympic village after the Belgian Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee intervened upon learning she had been incorrectly taken to a second government facility by ambulance.
The 25-year-old was told she would have to isolate for another 14 days due to Covid-19 concerns.
Meylemans tested positive for Covid after she arrived in China, forcing her to enter isolation and return several negative tests before she was medically cleared to move into the Olympic village, in Yanging.
She assumed the move would happen on Wednesday and boarded an ambulance for what she assumed was a ride to the village. In the post to social media, Meylemans added: “But the ambulance went to another facility.”
The post raised alarms regarding how it was affecting her mental health, and Meylemans appeared to calm any concerns in an update posted on Wednesday evening.
“At 11.35pm there was a knock on my door and I was escorted to the Olympic village,” she said. “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.
“It seems like the video and the efforts of my Olympic Committee have really paid off.”
At her debut Olympics appearance at Pyeongchang in 2018, Meylemans finished 14th but she is expected to be a contender in Beijing. She has one medal from World Cup races this season, a bronze, and finished no worse than sixth in five of the final six races on the circuit this season.
Meylemans still needs seven days of testing before she can be released from her wing. However, she should be able to begin practice for the women’s skeleton before the competition begins on 12 February.
“Relieved to hear that Kim Meylemans is now in the Olympic village,” IOC spokesman Christian Klaue tweeted. “We are glad that all the efforts led to the successful resolution of this situation.”
Rob Koehler, the director general of Global Athlete - an organisation geared to helping athletes - called Meylemans’ treatment “totally unacceptable”.
“She should never have to endure these conditions,” he declared. “The IOC is failing athlete rights.”
