--- title: Olympic Norovirus Outbreak Spreads to Athletes description: The norovirus at the winter Olympics has spread to athletes. Two Swiss athletes tested positive for norovirus. canonical: https://time.com/5162425/olympics-norovirus-athletes/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-16T15:33:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:19:15.784Z article:section: Sports og:title: The Olympics Norovirus Outbreak Has Spread to Athletes og:description: Two Swiss athletes tested positive og:url: https://time.com/5162425/olympics-norovirus-athletes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d44f1d26e7d5368/698927ebab6d771d9b6b1ca0/switzerland-winter-olympics-team-norovirus.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Day 1, Pyeongchang, USA - 09 Feb 2018 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Olympics Norovirus Outbreak Has Spread to Athletes twitter:description: Two Swiss athletes tested positive twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d44f1d26e7d5368/698927ebab6d771d9b6b1ca0/switzerland-winter-olympics-team-norovirus.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Olympic Norovirus Outbreak Has Spread to Athletes  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Feb 16, 2018 3:33 PM CUT  Switzerland's Olympic team walks at opening ceremony at Pyeongchang winter olympics at Pyeongchang olympic stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Switzerland's Olympic team walks at opening ceremony at Pyeongchang winter olympics at Pyeongchang olympic stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea.Ulrik Pedersen/CSM/REX/Shutterstock  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Feb 16, 2018 3:33 PM CUT The [norovirus outbreak at the Winter Olympics](http://time.com/5155290/norovirus-winter-olympics/ "undefined") has officially spread to athletes, [according to a statement from the Swiss Olympic team](https://www.swissolympic.ch/fr/ueber-swiss-olympic/news-medien/medienmitteilungen/2018/PyeongChang-2018-Stellungnahme-Swiss-Olympic-zum-Norovirus.html "undefined"). Two Swiss athletes, whose names and sports were not included in the statement, contracted norovirus, according to the team. The statement adds that both athletes have been treated by the Swiss team’s doctors and no longer show [symptoms of the highly contagious viral stomach flu](http://time.com/5135520/norovirus-outbreak-winter-olympics-spread-treatment/ "undefined"), which causes diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. The statement suggests that the athletes will still compete, pending proper safety precautions and the International Olympic Committee’s approval. The Swiss delegation believes the two cases are isolated, according to the statement. Both athletes were staying in Bokwang, not in the Olympic Village, and have had minimal contact with other athletes. Nonetheless, it adds that all Swiss athletes have been urged to exercise proper hygiene and avoid shaking hands to reduce the chances of transmission. American skier [Mikaela Shiffrin reportedly vomited](http://time.com/5162019/mikaela-shiffrin-sick-virus-slalom/ "undefined") before her [disappointing fourth-place finish](http://time.com/5161870/mikaela-shiffrin-lindsey-jacobellis-fourth-place-olympics-2018/ "undefined") in the slalom on Friday, and she said between runs that she might have a virus. After the competition, however, she [chalked the stomach distress up to nerves](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/sports/olympics/mikaela-shiffrin-slalom.html?emc=edit%5Fnn%5F20180216&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=60086509&te=1 "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5162425/olympics-norovirus-athletes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5162425/olympics-norovirus-athletes/"},"headline":"The Olympic Norovirus Outbreak Has Spread to Athletes","datePublished":"2018-02-16T15:33:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:19:15.784Z","description":"Two Swiss athletes tested positive","url":"https://time.com/5162425/olympics-norovirus-athletes/","keywords":["2018 Pyeongchang Olympics","Winter Olympics","onetime","healthytime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d44f1d26e7d5368/698927ebab6d771d9b6b1ca0/switzerland-winter-olympics-team-norovirus.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d44f1d26e7d5368/698927ebab6d771d9b6b1ca0/switzerland-winter-olympics-team-norovirus.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Day 1, Pyeongchang, USA - 09 Feb 2018","caption":"Switzerland's team walks at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony","creditText":"Ulrik Pedersen/CSM/REX/Shutterstock","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2018-pyeongchang-olympics/","name":"2018 Pyeongchang Olympics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5162425/olympics-norovirus-athletes/","name":"The Olympic Norovirus Outbreak Has Spread to Athletes"}}]}] ```