After the Austrian medal bank Sara Marita Kramer, a Norwegian top favorite has now stumbled over a positive corona test before the Olympic Games in Beijing. Jarl Magnus Riiber, who has dominated the Nordic Combined World Cup in recent years, must first go into quarantine.
The 24-year-old was initially indicated with several compatriots as the contact person for the Estonian combined athlete Kristjan Ilves, who was infected with Corona, and a positive test followed yesterday. The first decision in the combination is scheduled for February 9th with a singles game for which Riiber is the clear favourite. His chances of participating in the opening round are almost impossible. Riiber would now have to submit two negative tests in order to be allowed to compete individually. The Norwegian himself already posted on his Instagram account: “The gold medal is yours, folks.”
Riiber is considered one of the toughest competitors of the Tyrolean double world champion Johannes Lamparter. Riiber would have a second chance at gold on February 15 in the large hill competition. But here, too, starting is just as questionable as the start of the season on February 17th.
Norway was number one in the medal table at the Winter Games four years ago with 39 medals and is also competing in Beijing as a winter sports superpower. The National Olympic Committee has set the bar at 32 medals. In addition to Riiber’s positive test, there are numerous other “construction sites”. The cross-country skiers around the favorites Therese Johaug and Johannes Hösflot Klaebo, who wore ski goggles when he arrived, reported cases, as did the ski jumpers and snowboarders. World champion Erik Valnes spoke of “total bingo and lottery” in connection with the corona tests. In the ski jumpers Daniel Andre Tande and Johann Andre Forfang got it, both missed the start on the normal hill on Sunday.
Ski star Henrik Kristoffersen is currently more concerned about the test results than about his Olympic chances. “When you’re at a doping control, you know whether you’ve done something stupid or not,” says the 27-year-old, “but now you don’t have a clue. It’s total chaos.”
Source: Nachrichten
