Figure skating-Canadian Olympic hopefuls play it safe amid COVID-19 threat

FILE PHOTO: Figure Skating - ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating - 2021 Rostelecom Cup - The Iceberg Skating Palace, Sochi, Russia - November 27, 2021 Canada's Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro in action during the ice dance, free dance REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

(Reuters) - A number of Canadian figure skaters have become a reclusive bunch ahead of the national skating championships given the spectre of a positive COVID-19 test, which could ruin their dreams of competing at next month's Beijing Olympics.

The Jan. 6-13 championships in Ottawa, where Canada's figure skating squad for Beijing will be selected, will be held without spectators given the threat of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus.