BEIJING– South Korean speed skater Kim Min-seok is a homebody. When his competition or training sessions are done, he likes to stay in his room, with his smartphone and tablet as company.
Kim is among thousands of athletes competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics, with stringent health and safety protocols in place to contain the spread of COVID-19. The competition is being run inside the “closed looped system.” It is a bureaucratic-sounding term for a bubble. Once inside, Olympic participants can’t leave until the end of their competition.
For athletes, their Olympic experience here can play out like a Groundhog Day. Before the Olympics, they can only go back and forth between their athletes’ village and the training venue. Then during the Olympics, the only trip allowed will be between their accommodation and the competition site.
They can forget about sightseeing or culinary tours covering multiple restaurants. But that suits Kim just fine.
“I like to stay home anyway, so the closed loop hasn’t bothered me at all,” Kim said after his first training session on Tuesday. He’d arrived in Beijing the previous day. “I can entertain myself pretty well, as long as I have my phone and tablet with me.”
Kim also said it helps that facilities at the village are top notch and convenient.
Kim has a kindred soul on the men’s short track speed skating team. Hwang Dae-heon also likes to have his share of alone time.
“I am introverted, and I tend to stay home a lot,” he said after his first on-ice session in Beijing on Monday. “I think I will just be inside my room during the Olympics, too. The place is really comfortable, and the setup should help me stay sharp.”
One other speed skater, Kim Jun-ho, also likes all the comfort that his room offers, but the more extroverted Kim would still like a chance to explore Beijing.
“I am a little disappointed that I can’t go outside the village and see the city,” Kim said with a wry smile.
Short track star Choi Min-jeong said going through daily COVID-19 testing can be cumbersome, but she understands why some of the protocols are in place.
“I think the rules are all designed to ensure the safety of everyone,” Choi said. “It’s great that people are trying to run a safe Olympics.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency