Days after the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, more and more international athletes and coaches are reportedly criticizing the host country for poor living conditions as well as lack of food.
According to The Sun, German Alpine Skiing coach, Christian Schwaiger criticized the catering at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. He also stated there is very limited food for the high-performing professional athletes. “The catering is extremely questionable because really it’s not catering at all. There are no hot meals. There are crisps, some nuts and chocolate, and nothing else. This shows a lack of focus on high-performance sport.”
The media outlet also reports that Team USA prepared and brought some food for the 2022 Beijing Olympics. This included bags of pasta and needed hot water to make a meal.
As previously reported, Russian Biathlon competitor, Valeria Vasnetsova, spoke about the living conditions at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. “My stomach hurts. I’m very pale. And I have huge black circles around my eyes. I want all this to end. I cry every day. I’m very tired.”
Vasnetsova then criticized the meals at the Beijing Olympics. She described the breakfast, lunch, and dinner as just plain pasta, orange sauce, some meat on a bone, potatoes, and no greens. The athlete proclaimed that the food was “impossible” to eat. She said she is rapidly losing weight. She also claimed that some athletes were getting worse food than others.
The New York Post also reveals that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also released a statement. “We are aware of the complaints raised by some athletes, particularly with regard to food temperatures, variety, and portion size the issues are currently being addressed together with Beijing 2022 and the respective management of the facilities concerned.”
Others Criticize 2022 Beijing Olympics Organizers for COVID-19 Isolation Conditions
Meanwhile, Dirk Schimmelpfennig, the Head of the German delegation, called the hotel accommodations unreasonable while expressing concerns about COVID-19 positive isolation conditions for three-time Nordic combined gold medallist Eric Frenzel. The athlete went into quarantine after testing positive for the virus.
The Finnish Olympic Team also reports that Marko Anttila, tested positive for the virus 18 days ago. But has since produced several negative tests. Head coach Jukka Jalonen declared, “Marko has been with our team for about a week before we came here and he tested negative. We know that he’s fully and ready to go and that’s why we think that China, for some reason, they don’t respect his human rights and that’s not a great situation.”
The IOC also spoke out about the COVID-19 protocols at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. “We feel for every athlete who cannot compete because of a Covid-19 infection. The protocols have been put in place to ensure safe Olympic Games for everyone. All the cases are managed in full accordance with the rules stated in the Playbooks and in the adjustments which were made to the protocols.”
