Mikaela Shiffrin, the two-time Olympic champion skier and a top U.S. medal contender at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, said Monday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus and will miss World Cup races Tuesday and Wednesday in Lienz, Austria.
The result complicated Shiffrin’s preparations for the Beijing Games and showed how a surge of cases among competitors could upset China’s and the International Olympic Committee’s efforts to run virus-free Games inside an Olympic bubble. The Olympics are the greatest stage for many athletes, and a positive test can mean the loss of a rare opportunity, just as an outbreak in China could affect the entire Games.