Simen Hegstad Kruger, a two-time Winter Olympic gold medalist of Norway, may miss the initial few men's cross-country skiing competitions at the coming 2022 Winter Games after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

"We have had infection in the squad, and we have taken new PCR tests today," Oystein Andersen, Norwegian national team doctor, said. "We have feared that more would come, and unfortunately we have got another one. Unfortunately, it is Simen Hegstad Kruger who has taken a positive test today."

Kruger is asymptomatic, but that won't set him free from the designated quarantine period. Team Norway is scheduled to depart for China on Sunday, and Kruger is unlikely to join them on time.

Kruger has won three Olympic medals, all in the men's cross country skiing sport, at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang in 2018. He won two golds in the 30 km skiathlon and 4x10 km relay events, plus the silver in the 15 km individual event.

That's why Kruger was seen as one of the favorites for three events in the coming 2022 Winter Olympics in the competition zone of Zhangjiakou. The men's cross-country skiing events will begin on February 6, and the final competitions will take place on February 19. If Kruger tests negative and is granted the green light to travel on time, he may still be able to help Team Norway.

Before Kruger, Heidi Weng and Anne Kjersti Kalva of the women's team had already tested positive for the coronavirus. Weng is a nine-time world champion and the 15 km skiathlon bronze medalist of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

"Even though we have these cases of infection, we have to travel and prepare with skis and all," team manager Espen Bjervig said. "It is incredibly sad for those affected and an impact on the whole apparatus and practitioners. This is not very fun anymore. It's tough."