Winter Olympics rocked by Covid outbreak – as Aussie group obtain unhealthy information on the eve of the Games

Australia’s Winter Olympics preparations will continue with minimal fuss in northern Italy despite two members of staff testing positive for Covid-19.

The team, building towards the start of the Milan-Cortina Games on February 6, received the news at the Australian Institute of Sport’s European Training Centre (ETC) in Gavirate, about an hour’s drive from Milan, on Sunday.

The individuals, who won’t be competing at the 25th edition of the winters, were symptomatic and tested positive on January 28 and 31, with measures in place to contain any possible spread of infection.

Chief de Mission and former aerial skier Alisa Camplin stated that no Aussie athletes due to compete at the Games had tested positive.

‘The Australian Winter Olympic team has medical protocols in place for any infectious disease or illness and are standard operating procedures for high-performance environments which are being followed,’ Camplin said.

‘Such protocols have been in place for past Olympics, including the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Australia’s Winter Olympics preparations will continue with minimal fuss in northern Italy despite two members of staff testing positive for Covid-19

Chief de mission and former aerial skier Alisa Camplin stated that no Aussie athletes due to compete at the Games had tested positive

‘Alternative plans have been put into place for those scheduled to arrive at the ETC over the next 48 hours.’

Close contacts of the two positive cases were immediately tested with negative results and administered anti-virals.

Fifty-three men and women will compete in green and gold, the second-largest Australian team ever and the largest for 12 years. 

Twenty-seven of those athletes will be making their debut at the Games, with the largest number of female athletes also set to attend. 

The most recent Winter Olympics, held in Beijing in 2022 was heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Overseas athletes and journalists were forced to isolate from the general public for the entirety of the 2022 Games, with guests having described the scenes as ‘dystopian’. 

Australia is set to send its strongest-ever cohort of athletes to the Games, with Jakara Anthony, the reigning moguls Olympic gold medallist, set to lead the team. 

Freestyle skier Laura Peel will also be making her third appearance at the games, aged 36, while snowboarder Scotty James will attempt to complete a full haul of medals, having won bronze in the halfpipe at PyeongChang in 2018 and silver in Beijing in 2022.

Australia are set to send its strongest-ever cohort of athletes to the Games, with Jakara Anthony, the reigning moguls Olympic gold medallist, set to lead the team (Pictured L-R: Airleigh Frigo, Laura Peel,Alisa Camplin, Reilly Flanagan, Danielle Scott and Abbey Willcox)

Meanwhile, 15-year-old Victorian snowboarding star Indra Brown will also be competing in the women’s halfpipe at her first Winter Olympics. 

‘It’s pretty special to be the youngest athlete for Australia at Milano Cortina,’ she told the Australian Olympic Committee.

‘I started dreaming about being an Olympian in 2022 after seeing Jakara Anthony win gold in Moguls. 

‘It was super inspirational and just gave me a lot of passion and desire to do it as well. 

‘I’m really excited just to get this experience that not many people are able to experience in their lifetime.’