Arthur Pereira
modified to
06:34, February 07, 2022
The 24th edition of the Winter Olympics has just started in China. Two weeks of events where nations from around the world compete on snow and ice. A special edition where spectators are not allowed to follow the competition on site. It is therefore only from behind the television that families will be able to follow these Games.
Relatives and private supporters of the Olympic Games, this is the rule imposed by the Chinese government. Because of the coronavirus epidemic, families are forced to follow the tests behind their screens. A travel ban that once again pushes families to organize themselves. Europe 1 went to meet them.
“We will regroup with friends and family to cheer, shout and maybe cry”
In La Plagne, in the ski resort of the Alps, the Ledeux family has already planned everything. “We’re going to get together with friends and family to cheer, shout and maybe cry,” said Nelly, the mother of freestyle skier Tess Ledeux. For her second participation in the Olympic Games, the French athlete hopes to win a medal and thus take her revenge on the Pyeongchang Games in 2018. This time, she will not be able to count on her relatives, forced to stay on the land. native. Deprived of travel, it is at the family restaurant that they meet to follow together Tess’s passages on the Chinese tracks. “Three screens will be positioned in the large dining room for the occasion,” said the mother of the young skier.
“I am very disappointed”
Further north, in Morbier, in the Jura, the Bescond family is also condemned to stay in France. Christian, the father of the French biathlete, regrets not being at his daughter’s side. “I am disappointed and very disappointed not to live this moment with Anaïs. The Olympic Games are a special moment, it is the apotheosis for an athlete”, he judges. An even more difficult situation for his father who regularly accompanies him to his competitions. Moreover, at 34, these Olympic Games may be the last for the French biathlete.
Christian Bescond therefore hopes that she will succeed in bringing home one or more medals. Supporters and relatives have already organized themselves to plan a return with fanfare to the one who has already won three gold medals at previous editions of the Olympic Games.