BEIJING, China — Canadian figure skater Keegan Messing’s participation in the Beijing Olympics may be in jeopardy, as he has still not been able to comply with the COVID-19 protocols required for travel.
The delay means that Messing, who won his first national title last month, will not be able to arrive in Beijing in time for the mixed event which will begin Friday with the short programs.
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) hopes Messing will get the green light in time to compete in the men’s individual event which begins Tuesday with the short programs.
“He’s training right now, he’s healthy and he’s ready,” COC chief athletic officer Eric Myles said.
“We have several scenarios that are ready to be implemented, some of which foresee his arrival in the evening the day before the competition. We’re going to do everything we can to bring him here. »
Roman Sadovsky, Canada’s only other representative in the men’s individual event, will replace Messing for the team component. Canada is the reigning Olympic champion in this event.
Myles said the COC has several flight options to get Messing to China on time.
“We know exactly when he has to skate. We have several flight choices on the table. But there is a part of the protocol that is not in our hands: the tests. »
Messing qualified for his second Olympic Games at the Canadian Championships last month in Ottawa. The 30-year-old skater had also had trouble traveling to the country’s capital for this event.
Due to cancellations and inclement weather, he needed to jump on three flights to get from Anchorage, Alaska to Ottawa. His journey lasted 33 hours.
Messing was born in Girdwood, Alaska, but he represents Canada internationally as his mother was born in Edmonton. He returned to Alaska to continue his training between the national championships and the Olympics.
At her first Games, in 2018 in Pyeongchang, Messing finished 12th. He finished sixth at the World Championships held in Stockholm last spring.
