“We’re at the Olympics,” said Thomas Stelzer at the official farewell to the nine Upper Austrian athletes for the Winter Games beginning next week in Beijing. The state governor and the state councilor responsible for sports, Markus Achleitner, were sitting in front of their laptops yesterday in the Olympic Center on the Gugl. In order to avoid exposing the athletes to the risk of infection in the face of the omicron wave, the ceremony was held online – an unusual measure in unusual times.
With the we mentioned at the beginning, Stelzer continues, “I express that we are very happy with you. You represent Upper Austria at a world event.” Some athletes appreciated that no physical presence was required. While snowboarder Clemens Millauer switched on directly from the sunny training slope in Flachauwinkel, freeskier Samuel Baumgartner reported back after a positive test from the corona quarantine (more on page 15). Likeable authenticity was also conveyed when the half-naked roommate scurried through the picture behind ski crosser Johannes Rohrweck.
As the days count down to the opening, tension mounts among the athletes. “I’m trying to hide the fact that this is now the Olympics. That puts more pressure on it,” admitted Daniel Hemetsberger. The 30-year-old downhill skier has been the focus of media attention since his third place on the Streif. The Nußdorfer doesn’t want to admit his flight himself: “I’ll leave the chamois (trophy for third place; note) on the table next to me for a few more days until I can really believe it.”
The political dignitaries wish the aces similar experiences for the time after Beijing. Stelzer: “I hope that you can enjoy it and that your personal plan works. For us you are already the winner.”
Source: Nachrichten
