Anchorage figure skater Keegan Messing tests negative for COVID, keeping Olympic hopes alive

Keegan Messing, the Alaska Olympian stuck in Canada because of COVID-19 protocols, is getting negative test results and Team Canada is trying to remain positive about efforts to get their best male figure skater to China in time to compete at the Winter Olympics.

Canadian news reports say Messing has produced two negative test results since testing positive, and team officials are looking for flights that would get him to Beijing prior to the men’s singles competition on Tuesday.

Messing tested positive 96 hours before his scheduled departure to Beijing last week, according to reports from a number of Canadian news sources.

The result marooned him in a Vancouver hotel, where he has been since Jan. 25. Team Canada has booked private ice time for him to practice and provided him with a security guard so he can work out in a hotel stairwell, according to news reports.

Messing, a 30-year-old who lives in Anchorage and has dual citizenship, won Canada’s national championship last month to secure his second straight Olympics spot.

[Q&A with Anchorage figure skater Keegan Messing]

He returned to Anchorage briefly before heading back to Canada, where he thought he would board a charter flight to Beijing with other Canadian athletes.

The positive test result ended those plans, and Thursday night’s team competition — in which Messing was scheduled to compete — went on without him.

Now that Messing has produced two consecutive negative results, the Canadian Olympic Committee is looking for a way to get him to Beijing in time for the men’s short program Tuesday afternoon — something that appears as difficult as a triple axel, Skate Canada official Mike Slipchuk told reporters Thursday.

Two more negative tests are needed, according to reports, although it’s unclear if those results must come in Canada or if they can come in China. Slipchuk said Skate Canada is applying for a health certificate so Messing can enter China, and it is grappling with the logistics of getting him there.

“The biggest challenge once those steps are done is trying to get on a plane to get here,” Slipchuk said. “It’s not easy to get here.”

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According to the Globe and Mail, athletes must fly to Beijing through one of a handful of approved cities, including Tokyo, Singapore, Istanbul and Paris.

The team competition, introduced at the 2014 Winter Olympics, continues Saturday, and there is practically no chance Messing will be available for that. What’s more, there’s a chance Canada won’t even qualify for the second round of the competition.

With Messing unavailable and 23-year-old Roman Sadovsky skating in his place, Canada ranks sixth in the team standings after competition in the men’s, pairs and dance short programs. The women’s short program is Saturday, and Canada will need to move into the top five in order to keep competing.

Sadovsky placed eighth in the men’s competition with 71.06 points. Messing has scored in the low 90s in most of his competitions this season, and a typical performance would have left him in fourth or fifth place and improved Canada’s placement in the team standings.