AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
Highlights
- Several athletes have complained about the unsuitable living conditions, inadequate food, and lack of transparency in the system.
- Athletes stuck in quarantine are complaining about the inadequate training pieces of equipment and internet facilities.
- The International Olympics Committee has said that they are looking into the complaints and will speak with the hotels keeping the quarantined athletes.
The Winter Olympics are supposed to celebrate happy evenings that lay a path for the most exciting winter sports. The 2022 Winter Olympics is organised in Beijing, China. The sports event began on January 4 and will go on till 20 January. However, as it's been more than five days since the Olympics began, athletes and coaches have issued various complaints.
Complaints from athletes, coaches at Beijing Olympics 2022
Social media is filled with posts from the participants complaining about the conditions at the Beijing Olympics. Several athletes have complained about the unsuitable living conditions, inadequate food, and lack of transparency in the system.
Since the pandemic began, China has been stringent about the COVID-19 regulations. Now the international athletes are becoming prey to strict Chinese rules. Some of the athletes have tested positive and are kept under hotel quarantine. However, the issue is that the other players are facing difficulty in contacting their isolated teammates.
ALSO READ: Protests, diplomatic boycotts overshadow Beijing Winter Olympics
Secondly, the athletes are also complaining that the RT-PCR tests should be taking place on a daily basis. Athletes stuck in quarantine are complaining about the inadequate training pieces of equipment and inedible food. Additionally, internet facilities for quarantine athletes are also disturbed.
Source: © Icefields | Megapixl.com
This comes as a distressing piece of news; as the motto of the Olympics says, “faster, higher and stronger”; however, some might suggest that the Beijing Winter Olympics is rather turning out to be freezing, stressful and isolated.
MUST WATCH: top 5 Athletes to watch at Beijing Olympics 2022
Some athletes have reported that the Beijing Olympics organising committee is not adhering to human rights as they are not serving good food to the quarantine players. Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans posted on her Instagram how she was bounced between multiple isolation facilities as she was in contact with someone with COVID-19. So much so, she is afraid that she’d even get a chance to return to the Olympics field.
GOOD SECTION: The impact of climate change- warming Winter Olympics?
Likewise, Russian biathlete Valeria Vasnetsova posted on Twitter and Instagram that she was getting non-nutritious meals, the same food three times a day for five days. Vasnetsova also wrote that she doesn’t know about the results of her COVID-19 tests, and that she has been feeling unwell and stressed. Other players have complained that there is no hot food and it's “dangerously cold” in the early mornings.
Bottom line
It’s not the first-time athletes have issued complaints against the inefficient conditions at the Olympics. Previous Olympics also faced such issues. However, the food and other basic requirements should be the top priority of the Olympics committee. The International Olympics Committee has said that they are looking into the athletes' complaints and will speak with the hotels keeping the quarantined athletes.
