The winter sports season is in the starting blocks.
The highlight are the Olympic Games in Beijing.
But German athletes harshly criticize the venue.
Munich - Soccer World Cup in Qatar, Olympic Winter Games in Beijing: From a purely sporting point of view, fans can look forward to great events in the next twelve months.
Who cares where they take place?
Many!
Human rights, the construction of multi-million dollar sports facilities, dealing with the media - these are all criticisms of the venues.
The Beijing Winter Olympics will take place in February 2022.
There are mixed feelings among German athletes.
On the one hand there is of course the anticipation of the biggest event of the career - on the other hand there is also criticism.
The German biathletes Erik Lesser and Franziska Preuß are not particularly enthusiastic.
Biathletes Lesser and Preuss criticize the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing
Lesser takes "the IOC's responsibility.
One must ask oneself how such countries can even submit an application?
You can influence something like that as a sport, ”the 33-year-old told
SID
.
However, he does not consider a boycott to be the right solution.
“It is difficult to make the athletes responsible.
You destroy a dream.
Many only get this chance once. "
Preuss, too, asks himself “how one can award the Olympics in such a country.
My dream is not to see the Olympics in Beijing.
But of course there is already the dream of the Olympics, ”said the 27-year-old.
She criticizes the human rights situation in China.
“I think it's bad what's going on.
But I have to hide that a bit.
We are athletes and not politicians. "
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Olympia in Beijing: German winter sports enthusiasts have "no understanding" for the award to China
There has recently been a great international stir about the disappearance of the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai.
It has since reappeared, but the case threw a bad light on the communist state.
Combination Olympic champion Johannes Rydzek has "no understanding" for the award of the Games to Beijing for another reason.
“Winter sports have no tradition in China.
It is primarily about political and economic interests. "
Extensive construction work was carried out in and around Beijing for huge sums of money.
"It's all over the top, oversized and swanky to show the world what they can do," said Olympic luge champion Felix Loch.
Ex-ski star Felix Neureuther also criticized the "gigantism".
The organizers of the games are also accused of obstructing reporting.
Many athletes also complain about the adverse conditions under which test runs for the games took place.
Don't you feel like going to the Olympics?
(epp / SID)
