Australian curling stars Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt admitted they were “greatly relieved” after being cleared to compete in the Winter Olympics despite Gill testing positive for Covid upon arrival to Beijing.
Gill is one half of the Aussie curling team alongside Hewitt, with the pair sharing the honour of being the first Australians to have qualified for curling at the Winter Olympics.
Stream Over 50 Sports Live & On-Demand with Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
According to a statement from the AOC, Gill contracted Covid a number of weeks ago while training in Canada and had tested negative before travelling, meaning she was at the end of the infection cycle.
In a joint statement, Gill and Hewitt shared their delight that they will be able to compete in the Games.
“We are greatly relieved as a team, that goes without saying,” Gill and Hewitt said.
“But importantly for us both as a team, this experience is not going to define our Olympic campaign.
“We have treated this time as a rest day and a time to really focus on our Olympic goals.
“We look forward to representing Australia with pride and making history for our sport.”
AOC Chef de Mission Geoff Lipshut echoed the curling duo’s glee.
“They have dealt with this extremely well and we are very proud of them,” Lipshut said.
“Now they can resume their preparation for the start of competition on Wednesday.
“We are looking forward to Tahli and Dean becoming our very first curling Olympians.
Gill and Hewitt punched their tickets to Beijing after winning the final qualification tournament in the Netherlands in December.
They topped Pool A before facing South Korea, who were six places higher than the Aussies in the world rankings, for a spot in the Winter Olympics.
The scores were tied at 5-5 before Gill used her final throw to draw the one point needed to give her and Hewitt a 6-5 victory.