An explosion of norovirus cases has placed the women’s ice hockey competition at the Winter Olympics in doubt. The first match in the competition between Finland and Canada had to be postponed on Thursday. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) insisted there was no outbreak, despite five cases being confirmed.
On Friday, the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation released a statement saying its whole team was in isolation, following a positive test after their 4-3 win over the Czech Republic. They chose not to participate in the opening ceremony on Friday night. Meanwhile 13 members of the Finland team had been infected or placed into quarantine, the Associated Press reported.
The concern will be that more norovirus cases will appear given then close quarters of the Olympic Village
The concern will be that more norovirus cases will appear given then close quarters of the Olympic Village
Finland eventually played their first match against the US yesterday, while Switzerland’s game against Canada also went ahead. The concern will be that more cases will appear given the close quarters of the Olympic Village. But Mark Adams, an IOC spokesperson, insisted, having spoken to IOC medical director Jane Thornton, there was “absolutely no reason to suspect these cases are related”.
Meanwhile 20 kilometres away at the ice skating arena, the controversy around French figure skating duo Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron is in a camel spin. They are among the favourites for gold in the ice dance and are competing in the team event. Yet their partnership has raised concerns due to accusations made against Cizeron, as well as Fournier Beaudry’s former ice skating partner Nikolaj Sorensen, whom she is in a relationship with.
In 2023, Sorensen was investigated after being accused of a sexual assault in 2012 by a former US figure skater. The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner gave Sorensen an indefinite ban of at least six years, although that was later overturned by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada due to procedural errors in the investigation. That decision is currently being appealed.
Cizeron’s former partner Gabriella Papadakis, with whom he won gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, has called him “controlling” and “demanding” in her memoir. She went on to say that “the idea of being alone with him terrifies me”.
Cizeron responded that he was the victim of a “smear campaign”. The duo split up in 2022, months after they won gold. Papadakis was removed from NBC coverage due to a perceived conflict of interest.
The accusations, and their seeming lack of impact, have raised concerns about the acceptance of abuse within the figure skating world. In a Netflix documentary released prior to the Olympics called Glitter & Gold: Ice Dancing, Fournier Beaudry cried when discussing the allegations against Sorensen, saying: “When they decided to suspend him, it meant that his career was over, which also meant that my career was over.”
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She has repeatedly defended Sorensen, with whom she has been in a relationship for 12 years.
With Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron appearing together at the Olympics, there has been a heightened focus on the way the duo are presented within competition, with commentary on events seemingly reluctant to discuss the accusations around them.
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In a statement given to USA Today reporter Christine Brennan, the victim of Sorensen’s alleged assault said: “The comments by the French team in the press and on a Netflix documentary create a dangerous environment for skaters who need to report abuse.”
Fournier Beaudry responded: “We have no thoughts.”
Norovirus permitting, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron will skate together in the ice dance event on Monday and Wednesday.
Photograph by Matthew Stockman/Getty