Anchorage figure skater Keegan Messing’s Winter Olympics in doubt over COVID

Alaska figure skater Keegan Messing is out of the Winter Olympics because of COVID-19, at least for now.

Messing, who lives in Anchorage but competes for Canada, was supposed to skate Thursday in the team competition at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing. Instead, he was still in Canada, waiting to test negative for the virus, according to a report by the National Post.

Messing needs two negative test results, separated by 24 hours, before he will be cleared to travel. It was unclear if he had produced any negative test results as of Thursday night.

Neither Messing nor Skate Canada immediately responded to questions on Thursday. A Canadian Olympic Committee official told the Canadian Press that Messing is feeling well.

”He’s training right now, he’s healthy, he’s ready,” said Eric Myles, the COC’s chief sport officer. “We have a series of plans that can go as far as coming in the night before and skating the day after. We will take it to the maximum to bring him here.”

Messing, 30, recently captured Canada’s men’s singles title to secure his second straight trip to the Olympics. Skating in his place Thursday will be Roman Sadovsky, the runner-up at the Canadian championships.

Speaking from Vancouver on Wednesday, Messing told the National Post he had no idea where he might have contracted the virus.

“I was stupidly careful to keep the virus out,” he told the Post. “Like, I didn’t even see my parents, even before nationals and after nationals.

“... It just seems like I lost the lottery. I don’t understand how this transmits.”

[Stuck in a quarantine hotel: Olympic hockey coach with Alaska ties tests positive for COVID-19 in China]

[Q&A with Anchorage figure skater Keegan Messing]

Messing placed 12th at the 2018 Winter Olympics and this season had posted four top-six results in international competitions.

If he can produce two consecutive negative test results in the next day or two, there still may be time for him to compete in Beijing. The men’s free skate for the team competition is Saturday evening, and the individual men’s competition begins Tuesday with the short program.

Thursday marked the start of the team competition, which made its Olympic debut in 2018.