Swiss Olympic athletes hit by norovirus cleared to train

Hand sanitisers have been placed around the Olympic venues due to the norovirus outbreak that affected mainly staff members. Keystone

Two Swiss freestyle skiers, who on Friday were reported to have contracted norovirus, have been cleared to train after making a full recovery, a Swiss Olympic team media official told ReutersExternal link on Saturday.

On Friday, the pair became the first confirmed cases of norovirus among athletes at the Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, during an outbreak that had reportedly affected some 200 people — mostly security staff and Olympic Games personnel. 

Having recovered from the virus, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea, the two skiers will be able to compete in the men’s slopestyle final on Sunday, according to the Reuters report.

Swiss team doctor German Clenin told Reuters that although the pair cleared the 48-hour quarantine period, they are training separately from other athletes in the build-up Sunday’s event.

“They took part in training yesterday but separately from the other riders. They will compete tomorrow and I think they will perform nicely; we will see,” Clenin said.

Swiss Olympic did not identify the athletes in its statementExternal link on Friday, but other Swiss media named them as freestyle skiers Fabian Bösch und Elias Ambühl. It said that they had not been staying in the main Olympic village, but just outside it at the Bokwang snow park in PyeongChang.

The athletes were immediately taken to single rooms and treated by team doctors. They had no contact with other competitors, the statement stressed.