I interviewed 5 Olympic Athletes About Beijing 2022
In just over 2 weeks, the world’s best winter athletes will be in Beijing to celebrate the start of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Although the Olympic Games are meant to be a time when the world comes together, putting political and cultural differences aside, there are many headlines heading into this year’s Winter Games.
The first is the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and its potential impact on the Games. Just yesterday the Global Times reported 5 new local cases in Beijing. Will China’s government be able to successfully host the Olympic Games with Omicron now in the country? Will Olympic athletes (who are not required to quarantine) potentially be super spreaders amongst the Olympic village?
Beijing reports 5 new COVID-19 cases, cold-chain logistics involved - Global Times
The second storyline is the Diplomatic Boycott lead by the United States and 7 other countries including Canada, Australia, UK, Lithuania, Denmark, Belgium, and Estonia.
Although the United States is leading the charge for the diplomatic boycott, not all Western countries are in agreement. Poland’s President Andrzej Duda will attend, the most senior EU official to do so. Other countries including France, Italy, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Romania, the Czech Republic, Ireland and Greece will also send government officials.
The German and Spanish governments are still making their final decision. In my opinion the diplomatic boycott will have very little effect on the actual Olympic Games but instead be more symbolic than anything else. My favourite quote in relation to the Diplomatic Boycott comes from France’s President:
"To be clear: You either have a complete boycott, and don't send athletes, or you try to change things with useful actions.” - French President Emmanuel Macron
As a content creator that shares weekly insights into China, I’ve decided to focus on the individual athletes and their stories heading into this year’s Olympics. As always, there are some amazing stories heading into the games. Here are 5 Interviews I’ve recently conducted:
Benjamin Alexander - Team Jamaica
Benjamin has made history becoming the first Alpine Skier from Jamaica to qualify for the Winter Olympics. He was a former DJ in Hong Kong and China and only started skiing at age 32, now his is an Olympian. This is an awesome interview!
Alex Beaulieu-Marchand Team Canada
The 2018 Bronze Medalist Skier from Canada joins me in the studio and shares his insights into traveling to China and what he thinks of the Big Air venue located in downtown Beijing.
Liu Jiayu - Team China
Liu made history in 2018 claiming the Silver Medal in Women’s Halfpipe snowboarding, which was the China’s first Olympic medal in snowboarding. Beijing 2022 will be her 4th and final Olympics, can she push through and win gold on home snow?
Su Yiming - Team China
Only 17, Su Yiming is an incredible talent and last month became the first Chinese snowboarder to win a Big Air World Cup event in America. He has an enormous amount of potential and is favored to contend for gold at Beijing 2022.
Adrian Adams - Team USA
I reached out to the Team USA Bobsled Team and was able to interview Adrian who traveled to Beijing in September 2020 for the Olympic Test event, he reveals exactly what it was like to be in Beijing, and we also talk about the diplomatic boycott and what effect that has on American athletes.
Thank you all for your continuous support! It’s my goal to publish more newsletters in 2022. What did you think of these Olympic interviews? What are your thoughts on Beijing 2022? Drop a comment and see you all soon in a new YouTube video soon!
Cyrus