Olympia 2022: IOC “very unhappy” about Frenzel’s quarantine conditions

NAfter the German team’s harsh criticism of the conditions for athletes in the quarantine hotels at the Winter Games in Beijing, the organizers promised improvements. “We need to address these things. This is our duty and responsibility,” said Christophe Dubi, Olympic Director of the International Olympic Committee, on Sunday. It was “very unfortunate” that a corona-infected athlete would not have found good conditions in the isolation facilities.

The German Chef de Mission Dirk Schimmelpfennig described the circumstances in the quarantine at Nordic combined athlete Eric Frenzel as “unreasonable”. Frenzel had tested positive on arrival on Thursday and had to move to an isolation hotel after post-testing on Friday. Dubi admitted: “The conditions that night were not good enough. That must not happen. We want to make sure it’s not like that.”

However, the IOC top official assured that “many improvements” had already been made in terms of food, internet access, room size and the provision of training equipment. The vice president of the organizing committee, Han Zirong, also assured that the case would be taken care of. “We pay a lot of attention to these issues and want to solve them quickly.”

According to Zhao Weidong, spokesman for the organizing committee, isolated athletes are now being given the opportunity to order food from the Olympic Village menu. These dishes would then be delivered to the affected athletes in their quarantine accommodation.

Olympia 2022: All developments in the live ticker:

6:18 a.m.: Men’s departure canceled

The downhill run of the ski racers scheduled for Sunday has been canceled due to strong gusts of wind. After the start of the men’s race had already been postponed several times, the World Ski Association Fis finally moved the competition to “another day”. More detailed information was not initially available.

“The jury decided together with the organizer in the interests of safety and fairness,” Fis continued to justify its decision. The wind had already led to delays and cancellations during the training days. The German alpine quartet around Romed Baumann, Andreas Sander, Josef Ferstl and Dominik Schwaiger reaches for medals in the downhill run.

05:59: For the time being, no details about Bach’s meetings with Peng Shuai

After the planned meeting between tennis player Peng Shuai and IOC boss Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee only wants to publish details at the Chinese woman’s request. “We respect her right to say what she wants, when she wants it. It is a very sensitive matter,” said IOC spokesman Mark Adams in Beijing on Sunday. The Peng Shuai case has been moving the world for several months after the 36-year-old published allegations of sexual assault by a top Chinese politician on the social network Weibo in early November.

The post was deleted soon after. Since then, athletes, politicians and human rights activists have expressed concern for their well-being. Peng Shuai later denied making the allegations. However, their statements seemed posed.

“The meeting will take place. We’ll talk to her. She will decide what we announce about it afterwards,” Adams said. Bach had previously said he was “very glad and grateful to Peng Shuai” that the meeting would take place. You have to respect Peng Shuai and find out how she sees the situation herself. Whether there should be further investigations into the matter must be the decision of the tennis player.

4:43 a.m .: Ten more corona cases at the winter games in Beijing

At the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, ten other participants tested positive for the corona virus. As the organizers announced on Sunday, the infected, including six athletes or team members, were discovered among more than 72,000 corona tests carried out the previous day. The total number of corona cases at the Winter Games has risen to a total of 363 since January 23.

3:23 a.m .: Start of the men’s Olympic downhill race postponed

The start of the men’s Olympic downhill has been postponed due to strong gusts of wind. The race at the Olympic Winter Games in China, which was scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (4:00 a.m. CET), was initially postponed by one hour by the race jury, as the World Ski Association Fis announced on Sunday. The wind had already led to delays and cancellations during the training days.

Saturday February 5th

6:08 p.m .: “This place is not made for biathlon,” the Olympic champion rumbles

Shortly after his Olympic victory in the mixed relay, the Norwegian Tarjei Bö expressed harsh criticism of the conditions at the biathlon competitions in Zhangjiakou. “The biggest problem is: This place is not made for biathlon,” said the 33-year-old on Saturday at the official press conference after the race, when asked about the very difficult conditions at the shooting range. Strong winds and partly uncontrollable conditions had an impact on the opening competition in China.

Despite three penalties, Norway prevailed ahead of France, who also had three extra laps, and the team from Russia. Germany finished fifth after two penalties and 18 spare rounds.

4:42 p.m .: The absurd award ceremony of the Norwegians

Johannes Thingnes Bö would have loved to stand next to his mixed relay colleague for the winning photo – but he wasn’t allowed to. Because the Norwegian biathlon star is still considered close contact with a corona infected person, there was an unusual picture. While Tarjei Bö hugged his compatriots Tiril Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Röiseland in front of the cameras on Saturday, the younger of the Bö brothers just stood by with the necessary distance, stretched out his arm in the direction of the rest of the team and watched out of necessity.

The twelve-time world champion Bö has been considered close contact since Thursday and must therefore be particularly careful according to the rules. While normally only one PCR test per day has to be completed, Bö has to do two at the same time. He can only eat in his room in the Olympic village and will probably have to train alone for a week. But none of that stopped him on his way to victory in the final sprint. After the gold coup, Bö was the only Norwegian missing from the obligatory press conference.

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