Austrian ski jumper and World Cup leader Marita Kramer is out of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing after testing positive for Covid-19

The 2022 Beijing Games haven’t yet started but the first surprises and unexpected changes continue to emerge as some hot favorites have found themselves excluded from the event as Covid rears its ugly head.

The latest victim of misfortune is the world’s top female ski jumper, Marita Kramer, who registered a solid win at the pre-Olympic World Cup event on Saturday but returned a positive result after a PCR test was taken during the competition over the weekend.

The 20-year-old, who was preparing to make her Olympic debut, now has her plans destroyed as she cannot fly to Beijing.

Kramer reportedly had no symptoms and is the only team member to have a confirmed infection from her test.

The youngster poster a heartfelt message on her Instagram account saying her Olympic dreams had been dashed “in one day.”

The Olympic women’s ski-jumping event is set to take place on Saturday, with official training scheduled for Thursday.

Kramer was widely considered as the top contender to claim the title in Beijing, having won six World Cup events this season, which helped her to top the World Cup standings.

Chinese officials have implemented strict Covid-19 restrictions for the Games, placing all participants into an Olympic bubble as part of measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

However, despite the attempts figures released by local organizers include 11 positive tests among 379 athletes who arrived on Monday.

A total of 119 Covid-19 cases were detected over the past four days in Beijing, as fears lingered that the virus could disrupt the winter sports spectacle.