The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) says it is crossing its fingers alpine skier Katie Parker will return a negative COVID-19 test when she arrives in Beijing on Tuesday.
However, AOC's chief medical officer Peter Braun said there was a "reasonable probability" Parker would test positive upon arrival.
Parker was forced out of the women's giant slalom on Monday because she had returned "ongoing" positive COVID-19 tests since catching coronavirus in late January.
The 23-year-old — who is set to make her Olympic debut in Beijing — has since returned four negative results, but the increased sensitivity of the testing being used at the Olympics could still see her return a positive result at the airport.
All entrants into Beijing for this year's Winter Olympics are tested at the airport and must isolate in their hotel until they receive a negative result.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has a lower threshold by which people can test positive than Australia or the United States, meaning some people have returned positive tests at the airport.
If a positive test result is returned, two further tests must be taken — a confirmatory test and an additional test.
Should Parker test positive at the airport, the AOC said it was imperative those additional tests were taken as quickly as possible to give her every chance of being free to compete in Wednesday's slalom event.
Should either of those following tests be positive, Dr Braun said the AOC would "bring in the medical expert panel as soon as possible".
The IOC's medical expert panel (MEP) can then adjudicate on cases where an athlete continues to test positive but is no longer infectious.
That was the case with Australian curler Tahli Gill, who has been on the threshold of testing positive throughout her time in Beijing.
Gill returned a positive test on arrival at the airport, having caught and recovered from COVID-19 late last year.
Having first been cleared to play, she was then banned from competing until AOC medical staff — including an infectious disease expert — and their own PCR testing in the village produced evidence that she was not contagious.
Dr Braun said he hoped the Gill case "set a precedent" but he had to remain open-minded about the nature of Parker's infection.
The AOC has its own testing equipment in Beijing so it can effectively "present the facts" of each case to the MEP when they arise.
"Many countries have the facilities to do internal testing," Dr Braun said.
Earlier on Monday, AOC chef de mission Geoff Lipshut said Parker just wanted to ski.
"I actually don't know if she will pass the test or not," he said.
"Given she has recently had COVID, given the experiences that we've had, especially with Tahli, there is a doubt.
"It's something we're just hoping she passes the test and we're hoping she gets to have her Olympic opportunity."
Lipshut said it took a while to "crank up the system" when Gill tested positive, but once Australia understood it and had the people on hand to present their case, the system worked.
"We actually had very good scientific knowledge being able to understand the Ct (cycle threshold) values and the chances of Tahli being infectious to other people and we've been able to make that case," Lipshut said.
"With our COVID liaison officer, our chief medical officer, they were able to make a number of cases to the IOC and the health authorities.
"And pleasingly, on every occasion, the system worked."
