While waiting for the first athletes, the media center for the 2022 Winter Olympics opened in Beijing on Tuesday.
This Wednesday, XI Jinping visited the National Speed Skating Ring.
“
We need to put in a strong effort to make the Olympic Winter Games a success, by allowing the Games to truly reflect our idea of [being] green, simple and safe
,” he said in a video posted by the public China Global Television Network.
One month before the Winter Olympics (February 4-20), the leitmotif of these bubble Olympic Games sticks to compliance with the measures that will accompany the players on a daily basis, in an even more restrictive way (daily tests, travel prohibited outside the sanitary bubble) than in Tokyo last July.
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Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Medal Table
“
I expect to experience some difficulties.
The fact of not being able to leave the Olympic Village and to be completely put under cover, to manage over the fortnight that can be very difficult.
The Games are long, it's a washing machine and being able to go out, get some fresh air, take your mind off things, it always feels good at the Olympic Games.
The Village is quite heavy, it's quite heavy, we are not as free as outside
”, Summarizes Alexis Pinturault, the standard bearer of French alpine skiing who will live his third Olympic Games, will aim for a first gold medal he has three Olympic medals (bronze in the giant slalom in Sochi in 2014, silver and bronze in combined and giant slalom in Pyeongchang in 2018).
If the French ski leader will not be able, because of the restrictions linked to the health crisis, to test the Chinese slopes, certain “test events” took place in October (in speed skating, figure skating, short-track bobsleigh or skeleton).
The venues (and the 3 Olympic Villages) are ready.
The legacy of 2008
The “
bird's nest
”, an Olympic stadium which had vibrated to the rhythm of Usain Bolt's lightning strides, will host the opening and closing ceremonies.
The “
Water Cube
” which became “
Ice Cube
” which applauded the domination of Michael Phelps (8 gold medals, 7 world record) will host the curling competitions.
After basketball and gymnastics in 2008, the Palais omnisports will host ice hockey events.
Big air's spectacular site
Still in Beijing, the "
ribbon of ice
" glass parade the speed skating events.
And on the site of a former steelworks, in Shougang, stands a 60 m high platform, the only ski site in Beijing, for Big Air in skiing and snowboarding.
The images published on the networks show a spectacular place that hesitates between the magic of an amusement park and a futuristic vision of inspired designers.
Yanqing: downhill skiing, bobsleigh, sledging and skeleton
At 75 km from Beijing, the first track in China for bobsleigh, skeleton and luge was laid. And the alpine skiing events will be held. “
The snow will surely be quite close to what we can have in the United States, relatively aggressive snow, like what we had in PyeongChang
(in 2018)
. The difficulty will potentially be ridges without trees that let the wind pass. The track, I only saw it on the Internet. From the echoes I have had from those who have been able to ski it or draw it, it looks rather beautiful. It is rather encouraging. There were Olympics where we knew that the slopes would not be very good, in Vancouver, it was rather flat, rather easy, not very technical. There, it seems that we will be able to put on a show
”,presents Alexis Pinturault.
Zhangjiakou: Nordic skiing, snowboarding ...
180 kilometers northwest of Beijing, there will be sites dedicated to snowboarding, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, freestyle skiing, Nordic combined and biathlon.