Australian mixed doubles curling team will get to compete after being given a late reprieve

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2022 Beijing Olympics - Curling - Mixed Doubles Round Robin Session 6 - Britain v Australia - National Aquatics Center, Beijing, China - February 4, 2022. Dean Hewitt of Australia, Tahli Gill of Australia, Jennifer Dodds of Britain and Bruce Mouat of Britain during the match. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
2022 Beijing Olympics – Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin Session 6 – Britain v Australia – National Aquatics Center, Beijing, China – February 4, 2022. Dean Hewitt of Australia, Tahli Gill of Australia, Jennifer Dodds of Britain and Bruce Mouat of Britain during the match. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Australia’s first ever curling team will get to continue their Olympic dream after all. The mixed doubles team of Tahil Gill and Dean Hewitt have been given a late reprieve and will compete against Switzerland on Sunday, according to the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC).

The team was scheduled to leave Beijing and return to Australia after Tahil Gill had tested positive for COVID-19, but following an urgent meeting with the Medical Expert Panel (MEP) in Beijing, the Chinese Public Health System said the pair can continue under the Close Contact provisions.

The MEP examined Tahli Gill’s CT values following PCR testing over the past 24 hours and determined that they fell into an acceptable range.

“We are thrilled for Tahil and Dean, and I’m delighted our headquarters team continued pressing her case, after earlier advice the pair could no longer compete,” said Australian Olympic Team Chef de Mission Geoff Lipshut.

Gill contracted COVID-19 before leaving for Beijing, but she had a series of tests which returned both positive and negative results. The AOC met with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Beijing Organizing Committee, and she was allowed to compete in the Games before she tested positive again. Australia has lost all seven of their matches so far in Beijing.

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Aussie mixed doubles curling team sees their Olympic dream end quickly due to COVID-19