IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair tests positive for COVID-19

Emma Terho, Chair of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission, revealed in a post on Instagram she had tested positive for COVID-19.

In the post, she confirmed a positive test result, adding, “I moved straight away to an isolation facility, and will stay here until I have consecutive negative PCR tests carried out 24 hours apart. Then I will be considered negative, and it will be safe for me to move out.”

Terho added, “even though this is not the start I envisaged, I was happy to see the protocols that Beijing 2022 has put in place are working well, and I have not had any interaction with Games participants since my arrival in Beijing.”

She also confirmed she would be in remote attendance at meetings when possible, and the IOC Athletes’ Commission would continue to deliver all their duties. The former Finnish ice hockey player concluded her post, stating, “wishing good luck to everyone taking part in the Games!”

Terho, a five-time Olympian and two-time bronze medalist in ice hockey, had not been scheduled to compete at Beijing 2022, having retired from the sport around the time of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

It was at the 2018 Winter Olympics she was elected to the IOC Athletes’ Commission. She received the largest share of votes, with over 1,000 athletes casting a vote in her favor.

She was then elected Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission following the 2020 Summer Olympics. Her fellow Commission members chose her as the successor to Kirsty Coventry, who vacated the position at the end of her term.

Terho is expected to serve as Chair until the close of the 2022 Winter Olympics, though her term as a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission doesn’t expire until the close of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.