Patrizia Kummer has confirmed she has not been vaccinated against COVID-19 ©Getty Images

Olympic snowboard gold medallist Patrizia Kummer of Switzerland will spend three weeks in quarantine before competing at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing after confirming she is not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Kummer, who won the Olympic parallel giant slalom title at Sochi 2014, has cited personal reasons for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) require unvaccinated participants at the Games to undergo a mandatory 21-day quarantine period prior to entering the "closed-loop management system" set to be in place at the event.

Those who have been vaccinated do not have to quarantine.

Everyone in the closed loop may only visit approved locations using approved means of transport under measures designed to minimise the risk posed by COVID-19.

Exceptions may be granted for athletes and team officials on a case-by-case basis, based on medical reasons.

Kummer, also a double world medallist, is one of the first athletes set to participate at Beijing 2022 to publicly declare they are not vaccinated.

Unvaccinated athletes arriving in Beijing for the Winter Olympic Games must quarantine for three weeks ©Getty Images
Unvaccinated athletes arriving in Beijing for the Winter Olympic Games must quarantine for three weeks ©Getty Images

The 34-year-old has not yet secured a place at the Games, due to open on February 4, but Swiss Ski said she meets the selection criteria.

"After my personal decision not to be vaccinated, quarantine is the logical consequence," Kummer said in a statement.

"I respect the regulations of the authorities and the IOC."

The IOC has encouraged athletes travelling to compete at Beijing 2022 to get vaccinated, and has partnered with Pfizer and BioNTech to secure doses of the jabs.

It has not made vaccinations a mandatory requirement for participation.

Concerns over the spread of COVID-19 have grown in recent weeks following the emergence of the Omicron variant, while a third Chinese city has been placed into lockdown because of rising coronavirus cases.

More than 20 million people in the country are now forced to stay inside their homes as a result.

Beijing 2022 has insisted the spread of the new variant and a spike in infections will not hamper preparations for the Games.

"Whatever difficulties and challenges we may encounter, our determination to host successful Games as planned remains firm and unwavering," Organising Committee spokesperson Zhao Weidong said.