Canada’s bobsled team places 13 team members in COVID-19 protocols

SIGULDA, Latvia – Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton has placed 10 of its athletes and three staff members into COVID-19 protocols.

A spokesman from the national sport organization confirmed the outbreak on Wednesday.

“The health and safety of all athletes, teams, staff and communities where we live, train and compete is always our first priority,” read a statement from Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton. “(We have) robust health and safety protocols in place under the guidance of federal, provincial, and local public health officials that we continue to follow in our return to sport.”

Canada’s bobsled team had spent the holiday break in Latvia to minimize travel ahead of the upcoming World Cup event in Sigulda. The skeleton team has no positive COVID-19 cases.

All 13 of the affected bobsled team members are in quarantine and Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton said it’s assisting all of the individuals.

“Our focus remains now on monitoring and looking after everybody in our group that’s been affected,” said the Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton statement.

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton said it will not release any further information about the people affected to respect their privacy.

Qualification for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing will be based on the world rankings as of Jan. 16. Countries qualify sleds and the national sports organizations then select what athletes will be in their sleds.

The World Cup event in Latvia is a double two-man race, with two more weekends of full competition scheduled in Winterberg, Germany on Jan. 8 and 9 and then in St. Moritz, Switzerland on Jan. 15 and 16.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2021.