How COVID will impact Beijing Olympics remains major question ahead of opening ceremony

Hi everyone, this is Dan Wolken and I'm part of the Paste BN Sports team that is now mostly on the ground here in Beijing as we ramp up for the opening ceremony on Feb. 4. 

Given the stringent COVID-19 protocols in place here, one of the major stories of the week will be how many athletes test positive upon arrival and whether it will impact their ability to compete. On Tuesday, bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor revealed that she is in isolation but asymptomatic after testing positive. 

At first blush, this is a stunning and disheartening development for the U.S. delegation. Meyers Taylor, who is competing at her fourth Olympics, is ranked No. 1 in the world in the women's monobob, a new Olympic event. She also has two silvers and a bronze in her previous runs in the two-woman bobsled. Given her longevity, her success and her chances of winning multiple medals this year, she would have been a strong choice to represent Team USA as the flagbearer for the opening ceremony. 

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There is some good news, however. Bobsled is the last event of the sliding program here, with training heats for the women's monobob starting Feb. 10 and the medal competition taking place Feb. 13-14. That should give Meyers Taylor enough time to clear the virus and test out of isolation before she has to compete. The question is whether missed practice runs and training times will cost her the fractions of a second that sometimes separate the medalists from the also-rans in this sport. 

– Here's the link to read more about Meyers Taylor. ICYMI: Elana Meyers Taylor wrote an opinion piece for Paste BN on why she’s competing at this controversial Olympics. 

– Columnist Christine Brennan says China shouldn't be hosting the Olympics, but there's a reason she want them to be a success.

– The U.S. vs. Canada in women's hockey is a "rivalry is like no other."

– Mariah Bell, the oldest U.S. women’s Olympic figure skater in 94 years, has 'gone through a lot.'

– Dan Jansen, 56, can still fit into the Olympic speedskating skinsuit he won a gold medal in at Lillehammer in 1994.

– The USA plays Finland in women’s hockey on Thursday, a day before the opening ceremony. Here’s a look at how forward Abby Roque is breaking new ground in her sport.

– Four years ago at his first Olympics, figure skater Nathan Chen says he was just a kid and didn’t take time to savor the moment. This time Chen doesn’t want to have any regrets.

– Christine Brennan shares her top Winter Olympics moments in history. Brennan has covered every Winter Olympics since 1988.

Chasing Gold is Paste BN Olympics newsletter with insights from our team in Beijing: Subscribe to the newsletter here and text updates here.