Olympia 2022: That was fun, but Olympia has to change

opinion

That’s how it is at the Olympics: No matter how great the reservations and criticism may have been before the games began, in the end the sport, excitement, tragedies and triumphs remain in the memory. First of all, there is nothing wrong with that. During the games, the focus should be on the athletes and their often extraordinary achievements. Cheers and tears also showed in Beijing how high the personal commitment of the athletes is to be among the best in the world in their discipline. That can and should be appreciated. The but is still big: Beijing has finally shown that the Olympics cannot go on like this.

Former ski star Felix Neureuther is by no means the only one who fears for the soul, for the heart of the Olympic Games, as he did in the star-Interview says. But the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not think so. It has long since sold the World Sports Festival – whether in the winter or the summer variant – to gigantism and commerce. In Beijing, IOC boss Thomas Bach once again did not shy away from being close to an autocratic ruler. He also uncritically praised these games as very successful and dismissed all criticism that the Olympics offered Xi Jinping’s regime, like others before it, a welcome opportunity for positive PR and elegant concealment of human rights violations. The IOC and sport are “obligated to political neutrality”.

Olympics politically neutral? China doesn’t care

But not even the hosts adhered to this already hollow principle. During a press conference, organization spokeswoman Yan Jiarong was no longer satisfied with IOC spokesman Mark Adams’ evasive answers to journalists’ questions about reports about Chinese “re-education camps” for the Muslim Uyghur minority. She intervened several times and called the reports “lies”. It also became clear when it came to Taiwan. There is “only one China in the world” and “Chinese Taipei” (that’s the compromise name to enable participation in the Olympics) take part in the games as part of China. Because of such statements, there is growing fear in Taiwan that China may soon use force to create unity. Is the IOC, is Thomas Bach really incapable of realizing that they are becoming such accomplices to such politics?

The suspicion is not new that Bach and Co. wipe everything aside so as not to endanger the big Olympic business. “Bigger, more extreme, more expensive” has long since replaced the classic Olympic motto “faster, higher, further” for the IOC superiors. But this milking of the Olympic idea is no longer up-to-date and it is also reaching its limits. Modern games are supposed to be sustainable, but that too is a fig leaf. The two ski jumps and the ice track, all built in a deserted landscape near Beijing, will probably become the next outrageously expensive Olympic ruins. The consumption of resources and landscape is no longer responsible in view of climate change. How many ski jumps, bobsleigh runs or yes, soccer arenas, do you still want to build? Not even the question of whether the Winter Games could possibly take place in the desert state of Qatar at some point still seems absurd. It should be remembered that according to the original plans, the arenas for the soccer World Cup in December were all to be air-conditioned before the tournament was moved to winter.

Sport fascinates even without Olympic gigantism

In the end, sport doesn’t need any of that. The fascination lies in the competition, in comparing the best with each other. In an unstoppable final sprint to gold as shown by Victoria Carl in the cross-country team sprint, in the unbelievable sheer unbeatability of the German luge and bobsled pilots, in being fit to the point, which led to biathlete Denise Herrmann winning gold, in tears of joy from Skicross Bronze winner Daniela Maier about her unexpected success and even the borderline, complete exhaustion of the Corona-plagued combined athlete Eric Frenzel. Team D, the German Olympic team, was fun for all of us. This is how the other Olympians have impressed. All of this is possible at any time without ever new sports facilities in ever new cities. Examples such as the annual Four Hills Tournament for ski jumpers show this clearly.

The idea of ​​holding the Olympic Games where the necessary sports facilities already exist is a step in the right direction. It could also be heard again and again in Beijing – primarily from athletes, while the IOC shows little willingness to renew. Felix Neureuther says in the star-Interview that “athletes have more power than they might think”. Perhaps the greatest hope for the Olympics actually lies in the athletes taking the games back. In any case, that sounds like a real Olympic thought.