The Beijing Olympics have not started but much ink is being spilled. Whether it is on the choice of the host city, not known for hosting winter sports, or for politics, with the situation of Uyghurs or the Peng Shuai case. Faced with this, several countries have already indicated that they would do a diplomatic boycott of the event. An announcement who angered the Chinese regime.
For his part, Emmanuel Macron has indicated that France will align with the European position. But athletes are also questioned on the subject. This Tuesday, Martin Fourcade, candidate for the Athletes’ Commission of the International Olympic Committee gave his opinion on the issue, on the sidelines of the Sports Stars, in Tignes (Savoie), where he is present. “I don’t think any athlete is thrilled by this situation, he said. It is also sometimes necessary to procrastinate the thing. I don’t think it’s up to the athletes to bear all the responsibility. “
“No more shocked to see an ice rink in Beijing than in Paris or Montpellier”
And the five-time Olympic champion in biathlon to add: “It’s good to ask athletes to carry values, but you also have to look at yourself in society. If the only interaction we had with China was the Winter Games, that would be known, but today it is not. “
Martin Fourcade also commented on the fact that these Games are being held in Beijing, when the Chinese capital is not known as a city for winter sports. “For the snow, it seems strange to see the Winter Games in Beijing. Afterwards, I think that sometimes we also have to get out of our point of view as transalpine sportsmen who have the most beautiful resorts in the world and who also look at the Winter Games from a snow point of view. “
For him, the choice of Beijing goes beyond the events that take place on the snow. “50% of the disciplines also come from ice sports, he continues. I am no more shocked to see an ice rink in Beijing than in Paris or Montpellier. If we look at a snow athlete’s point of view, these are Games that transcend no one and that will be strange to experience. But the Games are also about diversity, about compromises. “ A new position that should not be the last.
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