German athletes with an understanding of the Olympics without fans | Free press

by time news

Berlin (dpa) – The German Olympic team reacted with understanding to the exclusion of spectators from the competitions in Tokyo.

“Of course, it loses some atmosphere. But in view of the increasing numbers, this decision is understandable and understandable, ”said swimming hope Florian Wellbrock. Previously, hosts Japan had decided to re-impose the corona emergency on Tokyo and also to ban local fans from the arenas. The reason is the increasing number of infections in the capital.

“Different laws apply to football”

“We athletes will lack this support, but we will make the best of it and cheer each other on. The sporting spirit remains unbroken, »said long jump world champion Malaika Mihambo. Javelin thrower Johannes Vetter, however, said to Sport1: “Olympia without at least a few spectators is a damn shame. The all-father football shows again that other laws apply. “

Alfons Hörmann, President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, also referred to the thousands of spectators admitted to the European Football Championship. “For us in sport, these images can hardly be represented in relation to the general public. We prefer to live with the safer option, ”said the DOSB boss to“ Welt ”. For its part, the German team will do everything to ensure that the summer games are as safe as possible. “The vaccination quota is over 90 percent, because we have an excellent value and maximum safety for everyone who travels there,” said Hörmann.

Support from the team

From the point of view of the athletes, athletes spokesman Max Hartung believes that holding on to the Olympics in Tokyo is right. “I’ve trained for five years now, I’m happy when I can compete,” said the saber fencer in the ARD “Tagesthemen”. He had also received this feedback from the German team, said Hartung: “They are happy to be able to compete, they want to do sport.”

“It was a long time coming,” said Hartung. Because of the corona pandemic, the 2020 summer games had been postponed by one year. The exclusion of viewers was “a shame on the one hand, but also understandable,” said Hartung.

“It will certainly not be as exciting, not as emotional as in a full hall,” says the 31-year-old with a view to the competitions. The situation around Olympia depresses the anticipation.

In view of the well-filled stadiums at the European Football Championship, he was by no means jealous, assured Hartung. “I’m more concerned with the pictures, with the many fans and the many infections too. I think it’s reasonable that it’s not handled like that in Japan, ”said the athletes spokesman. The pandemic is a global problem. “It doesn’t seem right that it is handled so differently,” said Hartung.

Majority of the Japanese against the event

Olympia in Tokyo is slated to open on July 23rd. In Japan in recent months, a majority of the polls opposed the hosting of the games, which had already been postponed by a year. The Japanese organizers and the International Olympic Committee have repeatedly ruled out another postponement or cancellation because of the pandemic.

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