- The Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans was moved to the Olympic Village after a quarantine saga.
- In a teary video she said she'd expected to be taken to the village but arrived at a hotel to isolate.
The Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans was moved from an isolation facility in Beijing to the Olympic Village in Yanqing following a tearful plea for help on Instagram.
Meylemans said on Wednesday that she felt safe after Belgium's national Olympic committee and the International Olympic Committee stepped in to resolve the situation.
Meylemans, 25, tested positive for COVID-19 upon landing in China on Sunday and was taken to a quarantine facility.
She said she'd been told she could leave the facility and move to the Olympic Village once she had returned three negative PCR tests.
After doing so on Wednesday, however, she was taken to a hotel, where she said she was told she needed to isolate for a further seven days.
In an emotional video shared on Instagram on Wednesday, Meylemans said: "On the way to the village, we did not turn to the village, but the ambulance went to another facility where I am now."
She added: "I am supposed to stay here for another seven days with two PCRs a day and no contact with anybody else. I am allowed to slide alone. We are not even sure I will ever be allowed to return to the village.
"And obviously this is very hard for me. So I ask you all to give me some time to consider my next steps, because I'm not sure I can handle 14 more days and the Olympic competition while being in this isolation."
Meylemans' cry for help prompted the BOC and the IOC to intervene.
According to BBC Sport, the IOC said Meylemans had been taken to the second facility because there was no room for her in the village.
It said that on Wednesday a room was made available for her and she was moved to Yanqing, where she would be treated as a close contact, meaning she must be tested twice a day and must train and eat alone.
"When the IOC learned about her personal situation after her arrival in the hotel, it took immediate contact with the NOC of Belgium to ensure that appropriate support is offered to her swiftly," the organization said.
In a video later Wednesday, Meylemans said, according to BBC Sport: "At 11:35 p.m. there was a knock on my door, and I was escorted to the Olympic Village. I'm now in a wing that's just isolation, but at least I'm back in the village. I feel safe, and I'll be able to train a little better here."
She added, "It seems like the video and the efforts of my Olympic committee have really paid off."
Christian Klaue, the IOC's director of corporate communications and public affairs, tweeted on Wednesday: "Relieved to hear that Kim Meylemans is now in the Olympic Village. We are glad that all the efforts led to the successful resolution of this situation. The IOC will continue to support Kim and the NOC."
—Christian Klaue (@ChKlaue) February 2, 2022
Olav Spahl, Team Belgium's chief, said in a statement in Dutch: "We have tremendous understanding for Kim's response. Our main goal was to get Kim to the Olympic Village in Yanqing as quickly as possible. We are therefore very pleased that this has now been successfully achieved.
"We understand that the COVID measures are necessary to safeguard the safety and health of participants in the Games, but we believe that the athlete should always be at the center of such an approach.
"We continue to work hard to further improve her situation and we remain in constant contact with her."