- Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans has been moved to the Olympic village after a lengthy saga.
- Meylemans posted a teary video on Instagram complaining that she was being held in a quarantine hotel.
- After the video was widely shared on social media, the IOC intervened and moved her to the village.
The Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans has been moved from an isolation facility in Beijing to the Yanqing Olympic Village following a tearful plea for help on Instagram.
Meylemans confirmed that she now felt "safe" after the Belgian Olympic Committee (BOC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stepped in to help resolve the situation.
Meylemans, 25, tested positive for COVID-19 upon landing in China on Sunday and was immediately taken to a quarantine facility.
She said was 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 instead taken to a hotel where she said she was told she needed to isolate for a further seven days.
In an emotional video shared to 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 PCR [tests] 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 enter the village.
"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 being in this isolation."
Meylemans' cry for help prompted both the BOC and the IOC to intervene.
The IOC said, according to BBC Sport, that Meylemans was initially taken to the second facility because there was no room for her in the village.
However on Wednesday, a single room was made available for her and she was moved to Yanqing, where she is being treated as a close contact, meaning she must be tested twice a day, as well as 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," said the organization.
In a video update on Wednesday evening, Meylemans said: "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.
"It seems like the video and the efforts of my Olympic Committee have really paid off."
Christian Klaue, the IOC's Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Director, tweeted after Meylemans was moved: "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
Team Belgium's Olympic chief Olav Spahl said in a statement: "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."