schema:articleBody
| - The last three races of the women's World Cup alpine skiing season due to be held in the Swedish resort of Are from Thursday have been cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak, the International Ski Federation said. "The health and welfare of the athletes and all other participants, as well as the general public are in the forefront and the priority of FIS and all stakeholders," the body said in a statement on its website on Wednesday. The decision means the current leader of the standings, Italy's Federica Brignone, wins the crystal globe for the first time in her career. The holder of the title, Mikaela Shiffrin, finished second after missing a month of the season having returned to the United States following the death of her father. Brignone, 29, is the first Italian woman to win the overall World Cup crown. Shiffrin had won each of the past three titles. Three members of the World Cup circuit's sponsor support team were placed under quarantine after displaying symptoms associated with the coronavirus, the FIS said. One of them tested positive for the virus on Wednesday having showed symptoms in Kvitfjell last weekend, although none of the trio came into contact with anyone in Are. "FIS is closely monitoring and actively following up this situation... Thanks to the procedures in place, and quick action by the Norwegian and Swedish medical staff, it is not anticipated that persons associated with the men's or women's Alpine World Cup have been affected," the FIS said. The World Cup finals, scheduled for Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy between March 16-22, were cancelled last week due to the outbreak of the virus which has caused 827 deaths in the country. rg/gj/mw/jc
|