Tagged with home Olympics? So…
The vast majority of athletes dream of hosting the Olympic Games in their own country. Italian biathlon star Tomasso Giacomel, second in the overall World Cup, seemed to prefer being there everywhere – except in the Sütirol Arena in Antholz, where he passed interview microphones and stretched out tapes after training on Sunday before the mixed relay.
release me the 25-year-old hissed to an official at the scene, and when asked what it was like to be at the Olympics back home in Italy, most of it was…boring.
– I have to say that it’s not such a special feeling. “It feels more like a World Cup competition or a World Cup because we are so spread out in the mountains,” he said with a resigned tone.
– It’s a little sad.
At the Olympic premiere, he ran the first route for the home team. What will it be like?
– I don’t particularly like it, but I go where I can and I have to try to do it as well as possible.
The Italian national team’s upload was overshadowed by a doping case. Rebecca Passler is the name of the biathlete who was excluded from the Olympic Games on Monday.
How would you describe the mood in the team at the moment?
– I don’t have much information about it because the boys and girls on the team are split.
– I’m not a close friend of “Rebbi” either. We talk, of course, but I wouldn’t say we’re good friends.
The Dutch skater paints the participants’ helmets
Itzhak de Laat is a Dutch speed skater who competes in short track and is competing in the Olympic Games for the third time. In addition to skating, he works as a designer and in an interview with the official Olympic information channel he says that he paints helmets for both teammates and skaters from other countries.
– This is the perfect combination between my sport and my art. “They don’t allow that in all sports, so I’m very grateful,” he said.
The Dutchman says that both his parents are artists and he had a “creative upbringing”.
The official Olympic information channel writes that de Laat is, among other things, tasked with designing a helmet that the International Skating Federation will give to the skaters who receive the award Crystal ball.
– Most artists are not interested in sports – and vice versa – but both come from the heart. “I guess I’m unique,” says de Laat.
The Dutch helmet artist says he has painted helmets for his compatriots Jens van ‘t Wout, Friso Emons, Melle van ‘t Wout, Michelle Velzeboer and Selma Poutsma, as well as skaters from other teams.
– I can do whatever the customer wants. Everyone wants different things. For me it doesn’t matter if it’s something extravagant, but some, like Selma (Poutsma), just want a color with a bit of glitter, de Laat told the official broadcaster Olympic.
The Olympic medalists hope for Zlatan: “You get hit by the stars”
The cross-country skiers started the Olympics in skiathlon with gold for Frida Karlsson and silver for Ebba Andersson. At the cake celebration on Saturday evening in the skiers’ hotel, they were asked whether they had taken part in the honors they had received.
“That’s actually the only thing that caught my eye,” says Karlsson about Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s congratulations, which the former footballer posted on Instagram.
– I thought: “Okay, now let’s talk”.
Now the Swedish medalists are hoping that Zlatan will leave Milan and watch them ski.
“It’s probably the one in Sweden that gives you a bit of stardom, such a great symbol,” says Karlsson, supported by Andersson, who calls Zlatan “an icon”.
Before both took their places in front of the assembled group of journalists in the hotel garden, the national team played Zlatan’s version of the national anthem “Du gamla, du fria” over the loudspeakers. “Powerful” if he had been there and performed it live, Karlsson notes.
They think about how to get the soccer star to at least watch them compete.
“I guess we have to try to get a few more of them on the team here, then he should show up,” says Frida Karlsson, fingering her gold coin around her neck.
The Irishman was helped to the Olympic Games through a fundraising campaign
On Saturday, Ireland’s Cormac Comerford took last place in the men’s Olympic steeplechase. But he was most excited about his Olympic debut, descending one of the most difficult downhill slopes in the world, according to Reuters.
– I’m sure everyone at home is very happy. “I received so many messages,” Comerford told Reuters.
The Irish Olympic debutant is a 29-year-old engineer who has tried unsuccessfully to take part in the Olympics three times. When the protective equipment became too expensive, the public helped raise money.
– I’ll bet hard to make up a few places in the slalom. “The top 30 would be a big success for me,” Cormac Comerford told Reuters.
Read more:
Johan Esk: The division in the team is the explanation for Sweden’s success
