Winter Olympics 2026: Norovirus outbreak puts 14 members ...

What’s Happening

Let’s talk about Finland’s head coach Tero Lehtera doesn’t want to risk his players Thursday.

Story by Winter Olympics 2026: Norovirus outbreak puts 14 members of Finnish womens hockey team in quarantine ahead of first game Winter Olympics 2026: Norovirus outbreak puts 14 members of Finnish women’s hockey team in quarantine ahead of first game Chris Cwik Contributing writer Thu, at 12:35 PM UTC · 2 min read The Finnish women’s hockey team is scheduled to take on Canada on Thursday, but that game is now in danger of not being played. A norovirus outbreak throughout the Finnish team has led to over a dozen players being quarantined ahead of the contest, per multiple reports. (yes, really)

Symptoms of the illness showed up Wednesday, as the Finnish team canceled its training session because of four players being sick .

The Details

That figure jumped to 14 on Thursday. It’s unclear how many players on the team rn have norovirus.

Some players are being quarantined because of possible exposure to the virus . Because of the quarantine, only 10 Finnish players participated in the team’s pre-game skate.

Why This Matters

With so few players available for the Finnish team, the game is in jeopardy of being canceled. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are expected to make a call on whether the game will proceed as planned. The following 14 Finnish players are rn either sick or being quarantined because of norovirus: Goalies: Sanni Ahola Defenders: Sini Karjaleinen, Elli Suoranta, Ronja Savolainen Forwards: Michelle Karvinen, Julia Liikala, Emma Nuutinen, Jenniina Nylund, Julia Schalin, Susanna Tapani, Noora Tulus, Viivi Vainikka, Sanni Vanhanen, Emilia Vesa Vainikka was present at the pre-game skate Thursday, per Claire Hanna of TSN, so it appears Vainikka was a late addition to the list of sick or quarantined players.

The sports world never stops delivering these kinds of storylines.

The Bottom Line

Finland’s head coach Tero Lehtera pushed for the game to be canceled Thursday, saying he didn’t want to put his players, or Team Canada’s players at risk. Norovirus is a highly contagious illness that has symptoms similar to the flu.

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