Sweden’s Leo Johansson tested positive for Covid-19. Now, the 23-year-old is fighting a battle against time to make it to the 2022 Olympics.

Leo Johansson was named to the Swedish Team to the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. This week, he tested positive for Covid-19. Johansson does not have any symptoms, is training as usual, and hopes to compete at the Olympics, which start on February 4. 

– Physically and in terms of his training plan, he is ready to travel to the Olympics. He is in good spirits, but of course, it is not ideal to test positive for Covid-19, says Swedish national team director Anders Byström. 

Yesterday, Slovenia’s Eva Urevc reported that she has tested positive for Covid-19. 

Unfortunate timing
With the Winter Games only two weeks away, a positive Covid test at this point is extremely unfortunate. 

Now, the 23-year-old is fighting a fierce battle against time in order to submit the required number of negative PCR tests prior to entering China. 

“For Leo (Johansson), the main thing now is to submit two negative PCR tests as soon as possible, and then pass the two tests that everyone is required to submit between 96 and 72 hours prior to departure for China,” Byström explains. 

Last weekend, the Swedish Olympic team left for their final training camp, which takes place in Northern Italy. Johansson, at that point awaiting his PCR test results, did not join the rest of the team on that trip. Accordingly, none of the other team members have been exposed to Johansson after he tested positive.  

The Chines authorities and the Beijing 2022 organizing committee have put in place extremely rigid rules regarding testing, quarantines and regulations for all Olympic participants. But for those who have tested positive within the 30 days prior to the Olympics, there are added rules and restrictions bot prior to the Olympics and throughout their stay in China. 

Accordingly, teams and athletes traveling to the 2022 Olympics in Beijing are taking heavy precautions to avoid infection with the highly contagious Omicron variant of the corona virus. The consequences of catching the bug prior to the Games, even if asymptomatic, could mean missing the Olympics entirely.