Winter Olympics: Complaints rained down on the organizing committee

Winter Olympics

Winter Olympics: Complaints rained down on the organizing committee

The Organizing Committee of the Winter Olympics in China has received a torrent of complaints from athletes angry about the cold and quarantine measures.

The Beijing Winter Olympic Games began four days ago, and the Chinese authorities promised that they would take place in an atmosphere of "smoothness and public safety to prevent the Coronavirus."

Some participants and observers praised China's efforts to organize almost "virus-free" games.

However, some participants in these games reside and train in harsh conditions, which prompted them to strive to improve their reality and provide the appropriate environment during training.

That is why the Swedish delegation requested that the date of the cross-country skiing competition be brought forward to protect the athletes from the cold, after athlete, Frida Karlsson, was seen shivering and almost collapsing at the end of the women's 7.5 km race twice on Saturday.

According to the rules of the International Ski Federation, competitions are prohibited when the temperature is minus 20 degrees Celsius.

The recorded temperature was minus 13 when Carlson competed in Saturday's race, but the head of the Swedish delegation, Anders Bystrom, pointed out that temperatures reached 31 below zero if the winds were taken into account.

He said in a statement to Reuters: "There are temperature restrictions, but I do not know if they are calculating the effect of wind or not."

Some infections with the Coronavirus have been recorded among athletes and organizers, but there is ambiguity about quarantine procedures.

China tried, by all means, to prevent the spread of the virus, as it prevented the public from entering from abroad, and prevented the sale of tickets in public places.

The Chinese authorities placed the athletes and officials in closed groups, separated from each other, and only those who received a full vaccination or were subjected to a 21-day quarantine can enter them.

Chinese procedures require the transfer of those who show symptoms to certain hospitals, and those who do not show symptoms are subject to quarantine in designated places.

Those infected remain in quarantine until proven free of the virus in two separate tests within 24 hours. Then they are allowed to join their groups.

The Belgian breast skating competitor, Kim Millemans, published an influential clip on Instagram at the weekend, in which she cried, complaining about being moved from one stone center to another.

The International Olympic Committee later said in a statement: "Athlete Kim Millemans will be given a room in the Olympic Village, and the Committee is ready to assist her in all seriousness."

The Polish speed skating runner, Natalia Maliziuska, said that she was released from quarantine early, and then returned to him again, before the start of the competition, after a positive test result.

She posted on Instagram photos of what she says are "morning breakfast, lunch, and dinner for five days at once." The pictures show pasta, potatoes, and charred meat on the bone without vegetables.

But all these allegations have not yet been confirmed by the organizing committee and by the various news agencies that follow the events closely.

IOC sports director Kate McConnell said at a press conference that quarantine conditions for athletes were a top priority and that measures were underway to address the individual cases that remain difficult.

But others praised China's keenness to organize virus-free games, through continuous sterilization and the use of robots in preparing and serving food for participants and organizing committees.