Thursday November 11, 2021
Wrongly in hotel quarantine
Olympic champion complains about China’s restrictions
If this is a foretaste of the Olympic Games, it could be uncomfortable for many athletes. Olympic luge champion Natalie Geisenberger is locked in isolation before a competition in China, although she would not have been affected. The treatment doesn’t suit her at all.
The four-time Olympic luge champion Natalie Geisenberger felt the restrictive actions of the Chinese officials twelve weeks before the start of the Winter Games. After the world-class athlete was initially classified as a contact person because of an error and was sent to quarantine, the 33-year-old was now able to train again. In the sunshine, Geisenberger completed strength training in the fresh air.
What happened? On the plane from Frankfurt / Main to Beijing, Geisenberger is said to have sat too close to a person who later tested positive. This is the official reason for the isolation in the hotel near the Olympic track in Yanqing. But they could not have sat in these places because the cargo space was overcrowded and suitcases were therefore stored in their places, wrote the tobogganist on Instagram and posted a photo with suitcases in the passenger area next to it as evidence.
But the Chinese officials initially adhered to the crisis management specified in the organizer’s Olympic playbook. After all, there was another seat for Geisenberger in the boarding pass. In addition to the Bavarian, the German world-class athletes Dajana Eitberger and Julia Taubitz were also affected.
“We don’t even find out the reason”
Frustration spread. “And we do not even find out the reason why we are treated like that and have to endure all of this!” Wrote Geisenberger from the hotel quarantine. Parallels to professional cyclist Simon Geschke immediately became clear, who had to be in hotel quarantine for several days at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo despite a double vaccination after a positive corona test. “If you can’t even get a plastic knife to cut fruit. Or the window is locked, you can describe that as inhuman,” said Geschke at the time.
Geisenberger also criticized the situation in the hotel. “We are only allowed out of the room when there is track training, we do not get really decent food in plastic cups and bags in front of the door, we have no way of moving,” she posted. “Dear FIL, can you please give us the reasons”, she turned to the world federation with her cry for help. After all, the Germans had “seven days exclusively negative corona tests, not a single contact with someone who tested positive!”, Reported the Bavarian.
The FIL Luge World Federation reacted diplomatically and referred to the well-known rules. “In China there are very strict Covid-19 regulations that were published in the playbook for athletes and teams. The Chinese health authorities set these rules and also determine the contact persons. Everything is very strictly controlled,” said FIL Executive Director Christoph Schweiger and added: “For example, if you are identified as a contact person for an infected person, you have to reckon with restrictions such as quarantine in a single room, eating alone, constantly wearing a mask, close-meshed Covid tests and so on for 14 days.” However, “you can take part in trainings and competitions as long as you test negative”.
The tobogganists are currently in China to test the conditions on the new Olympic track in Yanqing. On November 20 and 21, the start of the Luge World Cup is to take place on the track.