Figure skater Keegan Messing passes final PCR test, will arrive in time for Olympic men's program
Canadian men's champion arrives Feb. 7, a day before start of men's short program
Canadian men's figure skating champion Keegan Messing has been cleared for travel after passing the required amount of COVID-19 tests, and is on his way to Beijing from Montreal, the Canadian Olympic Committee said Saturday.
Messing, 30, will arrive in Beijing in time to compete in the men's program, despite missing the men's singles portion of the team event.
With Oakville, Ont., native Roman Sadovsky filling in for Messing, Canada qualified for the team event final, finishing fourth in the qualifying rounds. Messing, now en route to the Games, is set to compete in the men's singles event on Monday at 8:15 pm ET.
"Everywhere [Messing] goes is a two-day adventure," said Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada's high performance director. "But Keegan and his coach Ralph [Burghart], they're very low key and they're determined to be here."
Messing won his first national figure skating title in January, punching his ticket to Beijing 2022. But as he remains in Vancouver awaiting his test results, teammate Roman Sakovsky was pressed into action for the team skating event, which began Friday morning. Sakovsky placed eighth, and Canada sits in sixth place after the first three events.
WATCH | Preview: Olympic figure skating team event:
Slipchuk said Messing, who has no symptoms, spent the first few days in isolation running up and down the stairwell of his hotel at the Vancouver airport. An airport security guard had been assigned to him.
Private ice time was arranged for him so he could practise the last few days.
"So his last couple days has been full training and they're sending me videos, so they're keeping me in touch with what he's doing," Slipchuk said.
"By the time he gets here, it'll be just adrenaline because the men are done so quick. And that's the other thing, it's just our luck of the draw that the men happen to be the first event of these Games which they haven't been for forever. But this is part of it."
Sadovsky learned Thursday night he'd be stepping in for Messing.
Only the top five teams advance to the team figure skating final. The women's short program in the team competition goes Saturday, and marks Canada's last hope of moving on to the finals.
Canada won gold in the team event four years ago in Pyeongchang.
Meanwhile, the men's individual competition begins on Feb. 8.
A native of Girdwood, Alaska, Messing competes for Canada because his mother was born in Edmonton.
Messing made his Olympic debut four years ago in Pyeongchang, where he finished 12th. He was sixth at the world championships last spring in Stockholm, and also won bronze at Skate America last season.
WATCH | Keegan Messing wins 1st national figure skating title:
With files from The Canadian Press
