As strict as the corona measures at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing are: the corona virus has long since overcome all barriers and is rampant among the athletes in the bubble. The competitions will suffer as a result.
The frequency of reports about corona infections before the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing is steadily increasing. One day before the opening ceremony on Friday, the German Olympic Sports Confederation alone reported six further corona cases. The DOSB did not say whether there were athletes among the infected. The figure skater Nolan Seegert remains the only active German whose name is known so far.
The organizers had previously reported a total of 55 other cases, 29 of which had just arrived and the other 26 were already in the bubble. The Olympic world, which is strictly sealed off from the outside world and is intended to protect the games from the corona virus and made it possible in the first place, has long been permeable, as is now evident. The dream of competitions that defy the power of the virus is already questionable, at least for now.
It is to be feared that the awarding of medals will be massively influenced by Sars-Cov-2 in the next two and a half weeks. Much like the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Games, when the western states (the US and some of its closest allies) and the communist bloc around the Soviet Union boycotted each other, distorting the competition at times grotesquely. At that time the Cold War was the cause, today it is the corona pandemic.
The case of Marita Kramer
The case of Marita Kramer shows what effects this can have. The Austrian ski jumper, currently the best in the world, tested positive last Sunday and did not travel to Beijing at all for the time being. On Instagram on Thursday, she expressed the hope that she would still be able to test herself and arrive at the very last second. Whether that is realistic is another question. The normal hill competition takes place on Sunday.
The tragedy of such a case can hardly be gauged from the outside. A world is ending for the athlete: “No words, no feelings, just emptiness. Is the world really that unfair? Last year I prepared for the Olympics. I put so much time and energy into it to make my dream come true . Now it feels like it burst in a day,” she wrote on Instagram.
For the competition, it means the biggest favorite to win gold is out. And for the competition, that means no matter who wins, the gold medal will be tainted.
The quarantine also distorts competition
But the permeable bubble does not only distort competition through defaults. The athletes who test positive in Beijing have to go to the (notorious) quarantine hotel. This applies, for example, to the great US bobsleigh pilot Elana Meyers Taylor, who has been driving at the highest level for years and is one of the favorites in two-man bobsleigh.
Meyers, who shows no symptoms, is lucky that her competition does not start until the second week of the Olympics. In order to test herself free before the end of the ten-day quarantine, she needs two negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart. The athlete keeps fit with weights and a home trainer.
In addition, she is the mother of a 23-month-old son who she is breastfeeding. She would have taken Nico to her room, but then both of them would have had to test themselves. So Nico is taken care of by his grandfather, who lives on the floor below her. Because all family members with whom she traveled tested positive. In addition to her grandfather and son Nico, her husband Nic (a substitute in the US bobsled team) lives in the room next door.
Meyers pumps her milk for her son every day and otherwise keeps in touch via Facetime. Ideal preparation for an Olympic competition looks different: “The good news is that I was in great shape before the Olympics. I hope it lasts as long as I’m here,” Meyers told the Washington Post Phone.
The infection process will be difficult to control
How far the highly contagious omicron variant will spread in the bladder cannot be predicted. And if you look at the experiences with Omikron worldwide, there are legitimate doubts that the infection process can be controlled.
The latest reports from Beijing concerned not only the German team, but also the Russian women’s ice hockey team. Six players tested positive. The partner of figure skater Nolan Seegert, who tested positive, Minerva Hase, is allowed to continue training as a contact person. She lives in a separate room in the Olympic Village and has to undergo a PCR test twice a day.
Sources: DPA, ,
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
