Winter Games 2022: That was the Olympic night

The Olympic champions Eric Frenzel and Terence Weber will definitely not contest the first individual in Nordic combined after their positive corona tests. Manuel Faißt is to travel to Beijing. The third downhill training of the alpine ski racers was canceled after three starters. And there are more corona cases. That was the Olympic night in Beijing:

sports policy

After sharp criticism of the use of the Uyghur torchbearer at the opening ceremony, the Olympic organizers have defended their selection. “She’s an Olympic athlete who competes here. She’s perfectly eligible to take part in the torch relay,” said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. On the other hand, Uyghur groups and human rights activists spoke of a targeted and “shameful” propaganda campaign. The cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang, who has hardly appeared up to now, had lit the fire with the Nordic combined athlete Zhao Jiawen on Friday. The 20-year-old’s choice caused a stir as China’s leadership has come under international criticism for its treatment of the Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region.

corona

Despite the fact that the number of corona cases is not falling, the organizers are not concerned. “We are sure that the situation is under control,” said Huang Chun, vice director of China’s organizing committee in charge of coronavirus pandemic prevention. The Olympic organizers had previously announced that 45 other participants in the games had tested positive for the corona virus on the opening day. “The numbers are in line with our expectations. We expect the numbers to fall,” said Huang Chun. So far, the infected people have not spread the virus, he assured. The total number of corona cases has risen to a total of 353 since January 23.

Nordic combination

Nordic combined: The Olympic champions Eric Frenzel and Terence Weber, who tested positive for Corona, will definitely not contest the first individual in Nordic combined. This is what team doctor Stefan Pecher said in Zhangjiakou. “I can’t release them for the first competition, so I have to protect them,” said Pecher. After consultation with national coach Hermann Weinbuch and the team management, this was “definitely impossible”. The first single will rise next Wednesday. It’s not about CT values, but also “about medical history and the safety of the athletes”. For the competitions on February 15th and 17th he was “in good spirits”, said Pecher.

Alpine skiing

The third downhill training course for alpine ski racers has been canceled after three starters. The reason is “too strong wind”, as the World Ski Association Fis announced. The weather conditions on Xiaohaituo Mountain in Yanqing had already caused changes the day before. Actually, the last German starting place for the race on Sunday (4.00 a.m. CET) was to be decided on Saturday in a team-internal decision. Now Andreas Sander got this place. The 32-year-old Vice World Champion was given preference over Simon Jocher, as the DSV announced.

biathlon

Erik Lesser has substantiated his criticism of the awarding of the Winter Olympics to China and sharply criticized the gigantism in Beijing. The games are “under the headline: money, generate money. It’s about nothing else here,” said the 33-year-old Thuringian in the podcast “The Biathlon Double Room”, which the ex-world champion does together with the now retired Olympic champion Arnd Peiffer . About the competition venues he said: “The gigantism is really blatant. The facilities are just insane. The ski jumping facility – how huge, how violent it is.”

ski jumping

The former national ski jumping coach Werner Schuster misses the new faces in Germany’s team. The Austrian told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” that it was possible to keep Karl Geiger and Markus Eisenbichler at the highest level. “At the same time, however, it has not yet been possible to lead Andreas Wellinger back to the top. In addition, it would be time to integrate more young jumpers into the team. That is important for the future.” Ski flying world champion Geiger and team world champion Eisenbichler have formed the core of the team for years. The youngest athlete on the German Olympic team is Constantin Schmid at 22.

snowboarding

Freestyle snowboarder Annika Morgan has reached the final of the slopestyle competition. The 19-year-old finished tenth in qualifying. The top twelve of the total of 30 starters took part in the heats in which the medals will be at stake on Sunday (2.30 a.m. CET). After falling in the first run, Morgan performed better in the second with a score of 67.63. “It’s standard for me that I don’t land it in the first and then land in the second,” said the athlete from SC Mittenwald. On the course in Zhangjiakou, the athletes drive over railings and ramps and jump over a small hut.

Ski freestyle

Ski freestyler Aliah Delia Eichinger was thrilled with the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in China. The show was “simply awesome,” said the 20-year-old, who entered the stadium in Beijing on Friday evening as part of the German delegation. “I thought it was really cool and it motivates me a lot,” emphasized the athlete from DJK SV Sankt Oswald. The encounter with the other athletes and the flame would have triggered a real “Olympic feeling” in her. Eichinger starts at the games in China in the Big Air and Slopestyle disciplines.

ice Hockey

From now on, Finland’s ice hockey women will have to do without their coach Pasi Mustonen. Mustonen, who won the bronze medal with the Finns in Pyeongchang in 2018, flew home for urgent personal reasons before the second group game against Canada. According to the Finnish National Olympic Committee, there is a serious health emergency in Mustonen’s family. The previous assistant coach Juuso Toivola should now coach the team.