China's bob trainer André Lange: "Corona changed everything"

Former bobsleigh pilot André Lange had to fundamentally change his plans as a coach for the Chinese national bobsleigh team due to the new corona virus

Altenberg (dpa) - Former bobsleigh pilot André Lange has had to fundamentally change his plans as coach of the Chinese national bobsleigh team due to the new corona virus. "A start at the World Cup in Altenberg was not planned at all. Corona changed everything," said Lange on Friday on the sidelines of the Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup in Altenberg. The 46-year-old has been the coach of the Chinese national team since November 2018 and, together with the former bobsleigh pilot Pierre Lueders, is to build competitive teams for men and women by the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022.

Therefore, a start on the track considered to be demanding was not planned for the young team. "But we are only here to practice," said the most successful German bobsleigh pilot at the Olympic Winter Games.

The athletes themselves are not suspected of transferring Sars-CoV-2 to others at the World Cup. "We have been here for months. We can only find out what the situation in China is from the information here. In addition, none of the athletes come from the affected region," says Lange, who comes from Ilmenau in Thuringia.

Lange, on the other hand, does not know whether the athletes are worried about relatives or friends: "There is a great language barrier. What is said is in Chinese." The teams are still together for around a month, after which the athletes go home and take a month off. "Then we will see what happens next," says Lange, who will not be traveling to China himself.