Anna Swenn-Larsson spoke out on Instagram Friday about the recent COVID-19 development that will prevent her from racing in Levi this weekend.
“I’m sad. Not as in this picture when it came from joy. I will not race this weekend in Levi In the last 6 days I have done 4 tests and all of them have been negative,” she said. “The last one I took today. I will still not be on the start tomorrow. I understand that this whole situation is serious and that we have to be careful. I just think that it needs to be rules so that it’s the same every race and in every country. I don’t think that a situation like this is fair play.”
The Swedish ski team in Finland was placed into quarantine after a COVID-19 outbreak among its personnel. The team was isolated by the Finnish government and will not be able to race in Levi. The outbreak was first detected in head coach Christian Thoma on Wednesday, and it had been assumed that the Swedish athletes, who all tested negative, would be able to race. But because these athletes had contact with the coach for more than 15 minutes, the Finnish government stepped in and quarantined the entire group, per law.
“I was sooo exited to race this weekend and too feel those butterflies and emotions again,” she said. “I think I’m most of the time happy, motivated and energized, but this made me totally empty. One thing I’m happy about is that I have the best team members I could ever ask for.”
The slalom specialist Swenn-Larsson was considered a top challenger to Mikaela Shiffrin and Petra Vlhova in Levi and throughout the season. She will now miss two of the nine slalom races on the calendar, which could raise questions about the overall legitimacy of the women’s slalom season.
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