AApart from any political discussion, the serious weaknesses of the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing became visible on their opening weekend. The complaints have hit the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its most sensitive point: they come from the athletes.
Beijing, shortly after eleven o’clock on Sunday morning. Christophe Dubi, the Executive Director of the IOC, is seated in the press conference room of the Games Media Centre. Just now, Han Zhirong, vice-president of the Organizing Committee of the Games (BOCOG), praised the Chinese organizers’ “comfortable, warm and practical” service offering in a lecture, liberally using quotes from State and Party leader Xi Jinping on “Olympic ideals”. and referred to the great praise that their organization had received. Then Dubi takes over. Neither the Swiss nor his IOC attracted attention before the games by criticizing the Chinese. That changes this morning.
“I feel for the athletes”
“Negligence cannot be part of this operation,” says Dubi, he speaks of the day-to-day organization of the games: “Every stone has to be turned over,” there is a “duty to the Olympic family” that must be fulfilled. “We have to help the organizing committee to address the issues,” added Dubi. “I feel for the athletes.”
He also talks about German athletes, about the combined athletes Eric Frenzel and Terence Weber, about figure skater Nolan Seegert. It is the way the Chinese are dealing with them, it is the lawsuit filed by German Missionary Dirk Schimmelpfennig on Saturday that finally reveals that these games have serious problems in their day-to-day operations, especially in dealing with the athletes who are in isolation quarantine in China have to.
Finally a perspective: Frenzel has a larger room – and can train.
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Photo: private
24 hours after the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) pointed out the stressful situation of the affected athletes in a dramatic-sounding appeal, the association sent the message that the situation had improved a little. Eric Frenzel has moved to a larger room with a “significantly improved standard” within his quarantine hotel in the cluster, as his photo shows.
He was given a bicycle ergometer so that he could resume basic endurance training after a three-day break. “The situation has definitely improved, that’s satisfactory now,” said Hermann Weinbuch, the national trainer of the Nordic Combined, about the circumstances with which the duo had to come to terms. But what this statement also means between the lines: Previously, the accommodation was unacceptable.
The question of the Ct value
Frenzel is relieved for the time being: “I have opportunities to do sports and the food is okay.” Initially, the positive test on arrival last Thursday seemed like a heavy downpour: “I did everything for two years, I didn’t participate to catch this virus. Now I’m going to the Olympics and I’m positive at this very moment. That was a big shock. I want to stay positive and strong mentally, keep fit and stay tuned to take the opportunity if it does come my way. (…) I have to be patient now, fortunately the Covid values are also going in the right direction. So I hope to get out of here soon.”
