Dhe third day of competition at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing got off to an unlucky start for the German athletes. Ski freestyler Aliah Delia Eichinger was eliminated in the qualification, the alpine downhill skier Dominik Schwaiger fell. In terms of sports policy, the case of the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai is the focus.
Sturzpech: The German ski racer Dominik Schwaiger fell on the Olympic downhill run. The 30-year-old from Schönau started the race on Monday with the number two and fell just before the finish line. Schwaiger slipped into a safety net and appeared to have injured his arm. He was taken away in an Akia. According to the German Ski Association (DSV), he suffered a bruise on his left forearm and elbow. The race in Yanqing was interrupted for about a quarter of an hour. According to the favorites among the 42 drivers, the Swiss Beat Feuz was in the lead ahead of the Frenchman Johan Clarey and Matthias Mayer from Austria.
Shiffrin-Off: For ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin, the Winter Games started with a severe setback in giant slalom. The top favorite for the gold medal slipped away after only a few goals in the first round on Monday and was eliminated completely surprisingly. Swede Sara Hector was in the lead after the first run. The only German starter, Emma Aicher, made it into the final in 30th place (since 7.30 a.m. CET CET in the FAZ live ticker about the Olympics and on ZDF). In her previous five races at the Olympic Games, Shiffrin had always finished in the top 5. She won gold twice and silver once. In China she has decided to compete in all disciplines.
Eliminated: Germany’s best ski freestyler Aliah Delia Eichinger was eliminated in the Big Air qualification. As 18th, the 20-year-old from Sankt Oswald did not make it into the final of the twelve best participants on Monday. “I can’t complain about anything at all. I’m super happy with today,” said Eichinger of the German Press Agency and raved about “a super good experience” in the world’s first permanent big-air stadium. Canadian Megan Oldham was the best in qualifying, securing the most points for her jumps. After a fall, China’s top star Eileen Gu made it to fifth place in the final on Tuesday (3:00 a.m. CET in the FAZ live ticker for the Olympics and on ARD). The best two of the three jumps are included in the rating.
Russian Gold: Only 15-year-old Kamila Vasilyeva has secured the Olympic victory in the team competition of figure skating for the Russian Olympic Committee. The great talent from Moscow won the freestyle at the end of the team competition in Beijing on Monday. In second place came Kaori Sakamoto, who was able to defend Japan’s bronze rank. A fourth place finish by Karen Chen was enough for the USA to win the silver medal. Germany did not qualify for the freestyle final of the top five teams and finished ninth overall.
Corona: 24 other people have tested positive for the corona virus. As the organizers announced on Monday, there were also twelve athletes or team members among those infected. The cases were identified among more than 74,000 corona tests carried out the previous day. Ten of the new cases were discovered among 142 Olympic participants who only arrived at Beijing Airport on Sunday. The total number of corona cases at the Winter Games has risen to a total of 385 since January 23.
Sports policy: Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has announced a visit to the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne after meeting IOC President Thomas Bach. The 36-year-old expressed this intention at the meeting in Beijing, the IOC announced on Monday. Peng Shuai therefore announced that he would like to travel to Europe if the corona pandemic made it possible again. In the statement, the IOC confirmed the meeting between Bach, former athlete spokeswoman Kirsty Coventry and Peng Shuai on Saturday at a hotel in Beijing. The case of Peng Shuai has been moving the world for several months after the former world number one in doubles published allegations of sexual assault by a top Chinese politician on the social network Weibo in November. In an interview that took place under non-transparent circumstances, she now explained that she had deleted the post herself.
Thanks to: Uyghur cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang has expressed her gratitude for her role as torch bearer at the opening of the Winter Olympics. “When I took on the task, I just couldn’t believe it,” said the 20-year-old Chinese, according to Chinese state media. “Because my homeland gave me this important task, I had to fulfill it too.” The fact that the Uyghur had lit the Olympic flame together with the Nordic combined athlete Zhao Jiawen caused a stir, as China has faced international allegations of oppression of the Muslim minority.
