The organizers of the Summer Games feel ready for the billion-dollar spectacle. The German team is aiming for many medal celebrations. But the security situation and a doping scandal are causing question marks.
For Emmanuel Macron, it is nothing less than “an appointment with history”. A few days before the opening of the Summer Games in Paris, the French president is also getting Olympic fever. More and more athletes are moving into their rooms in the Olympic Village, only the final work is being done at the competition venues and the presence of police and security forces has increased significantly. “Everything is ready, the anticipation is growing,” says head of organization Tony Estanguet.
The three-time Olympic canoe champion estimates the cost of the third Summer Games in the French capital after 1900 and 1924 at around 4.5 billion euros. Everything is privately financed, nothing from taxpayers’ money, assures Estanguet.
The example of Paris also electrified the president of the German Olympic Sports Confederation shortly before his departure for the host city on Tuesday. “Paris is nearby, we will have many fans from Germany there. That is also positive in view of the fact that we might want to apply again ourselves,” said DOSB boss Thomas Weikert in the ZDF “Sportstudio”.
After two Olympic Corona editions, the DOSB is again planning lavish medal parties in an opulent German House, which this time is set up in a rugby stadium, including a fan zone for 3,000 spectators. Weikert also wants to use this to inspire the often skeptical German public to submit their own Olympic bid, as the 62-year-old emphasizes. But this will also require sporting success, after the weakest haul since reunification with 37 medals in Tokyo in 2021.
German Team
“The goal is certainly at least the result we achieved at the last Games,” says Weikert, rather cautiously. The goal is to be among the top ten nations in the medal table again. The latest projections from the umbrella organization also show this, says Weikert.
427 German athletes will compete in Paris, 211 women and 216 men. For 255 of them, it is an Olympic first. In addition to the riders and canoeists, the biggest hopes for gold are long jumper Malaika Mihambo, decathlete Leo Neugebauer and swimmer Florian Wellbrock.
Security
The police are already patrolling the platform when the Olympic guests arrive in Paris, and military forces can also be seen everywhere. Their presence was massively increased before the start of the games – in addition to this, there are up to 20,000 private security guards.
From the perspective of the acting Interior Minister, there is currently no reason for concern. “As far as we know, there is no characteristic threat to the security of the Olympic Games,” said Gérald Darmanin to “Le Journal du Dimanche.” The intelligence services have not yet identified any imminent danger. The opening ceremony can also take place on the Seine as planned. Organization chief Estanguet also reiterated that security is the “number one priority.”
Tickets
Opening and closing ceremonies, several evening events in athletics – according to the organizers, there are still free places in more than 20 sports. A total of around 8.8 million tickets have been sold – a six-figure number is still available. Consumer advocates strongly warn against buying tickets in Paris from individuals. It is recommended that tickets be purchased exclusively on the official Olympic sales website or on the official resale website.
corona
At the Tour de France, concerns about Corona continued right up to the end. Several professional cyclists had to abandon the tour early due to an infection, and the organizers had introduced a mask requirement in certain areas. The Olympic organizers are currently not implementing any special measures.
The normal recommendations would apply, such as washing your hands regularly, said OC chief Estanguet, referring to the French health authorities and falling corona numbers in the country. There is currently no reason to strengthen the measures. In 2021 in Tokyo and 2022 in Beijing, the Olympics were held with strict conditions and largely without spectators due to the pandemic.
Doping controversy
The anger over positive doping tests for 23 top Chinese swimmers continues to have an impact. “We are doing everything possible to get this cleared up. This has to be the case to protect the athletes. Otherwise we can save ourselves the competition,” DOSB President Weikert told ZDF.
In April, it was announced that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine at a national competition in China in early 2021. The Chinese anti-doping agency Chinada attributed the positive tests to contamination in a hotel kitchen and refrained from banning them.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) followed this assessment. Despite strong criticism led by the USA, an independent investigator from Switzerland found no wrongdoing by Wada. German sport is also “a little outraged”, Weikert confirms. National coach Bernd Berkhahn is already preparing for protests in the swimming pool.
Source: Stern
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