Dutch short track speed skater Suzanne Schulting, who won individual gold, silver and bronze at the Olympics, will miss the world championships that start Friday after testing positive for COVID-19.
“Mentally, I’m broken,” was posted on the social media of Schulting, who swept all five events at the 2021 Worlds. “It is and was a long season. I reloaded myself and I felt so ready to defend my 5 titles.. I did everything in my power to stay negative, but unfortunately it didn’t work out.”
Schulting was due to be one of the biggest stars of worlds in Montreal (airing live on Peacock). South Korean Choi Min-Jeong and Hungarian Shaoang Liu are the remaining individual gold medalists from the Olympics who are entered.
China sent no skaters to worlds, as it did for figure skating worlds last month. Other stars passing on the event include the top American, Kristen Santos, Italian Arianna Fontana and South Korean Hwang Dae-Heon.
The U.S. roster is led by two-time Olympian Maame Biney, looking to become the first American to earn a world medal since J.R. Celski in 2014.
Canadian Charles Hamelin, a medalist at the last five Olympics, is expected to retire after competing at a home worlds.
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