Viral Swiss skier, Fabian Boesch and teammate Elias Ambuehl, are cleared to train after norovirus scare
Midway through the week, Swiss freestyle skiers Fabian Boesch and Elias Ambuehl contracted the norovirus bug that has threatened to hijack the immune systems of winter athletes in South Korea, and risked being unable to participate in Sunday’s slopestyle qualifications. Fortunately, Swiss team media official Erika Herzig told Reuters on Friday that both athletes have recovered and will return to training.
Boesch has had an eventful Olympics going from viral name to virus-carrier. He previously went viral for posting a video of himself riding an escalator with one arm, using a pallet truck as a luge and for taking a risky photo atop the Olympic rings.
The norovirus, aptly named the “winter stomach bug,” is a viral infection that causes inflammation and irritation in the gut, triggering diarrhea and vomiting. There was an outbreak of the norovirus among Winter Olympics security staff in the lead-up to the Games with 200 reported cases, but it appears that South Korea’s efforts to prevent an outbreak have been largely successful so far.
Despite passing the 48-hour quarantine period and dissipating symptoms, the Swiss team is taking further precautions to prevent a spread of the norovirus. Swiss team doctor German Clenin told Reuters that Boesch and Ambuehl will continue training separately ahead of Sunday.
Via Reuters:
“The 48 hours of quarantine is gone,” Clenin told reporters after the ladies’ slopestyle final, won by Switzerland’s Sarah Hoefflin.
“But we did not want to mix them up with the other boys until the contest.
“They took part in training yesterday but separately from the other riders. They will compete tomorrow and I think they will perform nicely, we will see.”
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DJ Dunson is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at dunsnchecksin@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or Facebook.
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