Olympia without a spectator: how calm it is! German athlete but used to empty ranks

Laura Ludwig still knows this from London and Rio. What it’s like when you jog into a packed beach volleyball stadium before the match at the Olympic Games and the spectators in the stands are shouting at you before the first rally.

And in Tokyo? A handful of carers and the volunteers clap their blue shirts against the running-in music. “It’s funny,” says the Olympic champion about the atmosphere on the center court in Shiokaze Park. Because of Corona, no paying fan is allowed into the arenas, apart from the other athletes and members of the delegations, only the people with tasks are there: Olympic volunteers and media professionals.

No spectators? Quickly forgotten in competition

However: this strange impression doesn’t last long. “You sometimes really forget that there are no spectators there. At the beginning, when you serve up, you still think: it’s amazing how quiet this is. But then that is completely gone,” says the 35-year-old standard-bearer. The players do not even notice the cheering animations on the screens, which sometimes seem out of place and sad.

In addition to Ludwig, other athletes report this. As soon as the members of the German team compete on the way to gold, silver and bronze in Japan, they are stuck in the tunnel. “When the competition started, I was fully focused and focused and didn’t think about Corona or anything else. When the lights go out and the lights are on on the lanes, it’s only the opponent anyway,” says saber fencer Max Hartung.

Little Olympic flair in the athletes’ village

The outgoing athletes spokesman does not hide the fact that something is still missing in Japan. “For me it is perhaps less bad than for those who are there for the first time. To wander through the village and chat with other athletes, to experience this special place and to hear the many different languages ​​- this flair is of course already lost “says Hartung. There is concern about infection with Corona, nobody wants to go to the notorious isolation hotel of the cyclist Simon Geschke, who tested positive.

Knowing that they are missing out on something, the newcomers to the Olympics seem happy with their Olympic experience despite the lack of a backdrop. “Olympic flair definitely comes up anyway. You really have to give the Japanese a huge compliment. How the whole thing is organized and the competition venues are set up, that definitely deserves that the stadium is full. It’s a lot of fun.” says beach volleyball player Clemens Wickler. Hockey national player Florian Fuchs perceives “the atmosphere as very positive. There are always people who wave wildly to the bus. At the opening ceremony the people were very enthusiastic.”

Athletes have long been used to the situation

Often the calls and reactions of your own teams in the stands are enough not to feel completely lost in the action. “We cheer normally among us, the others cheer under the mask. You can feel the emotions even if you can’t see your mouth,” says archer Michelle Kroppen, who won bronze in the team.

The assessment of Wicklers Beach colleague Julius Thole is shared by many others: The games “now also with viewers, that would of course have a different flair. At the same time we have just practiced it for a year and a half, we know it and can handle it. That’s normal for all teams at the moment. “

Mood maker in action even without an audience

The organizers also endeavor to achieve this normality in the broadest sense. Whether playing basketball, gymnastics, in the swimming pool or in the breaks with handball: Wherever music or comments are usually used to create a mood and accompany the action, this also happens in Tokyo. Artificial atmosphere from the tape is the exception, the usual sounds related to sports are appreciated. “That is very, very important. Otherwise it would not come across at all. Without the music: disaster,” says beach volleyball player Karla Borger.