“You can be very proud of what you have achieved” Thomas Bach praises Beijing organizers

BEIJING — The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Beijing organizers took a victory lap on the penultimate day of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Zhang Jiandong, a senior BOCOG official, told the 139th IOC session, that in the “past 18 days (we have) overcome the inconvenience caused by COVID-19 and delivered an Olympic Games that will go down in history.”

He said Beijing produced the “streamlined, safe and splendid Games as we had promised.”

Zhang said the final numbers were 2,877 athletes from 91 NOCs competing, with the proportion of female athletes exceeding 45 percent.

However, the numbers that have attracted equal — if not more — attention are the ones that Juan Antonio Samaranch, chair of the coordination commission, announced to the Session:

He said there were 264 positive COVID-19 tests out of 14,000 conducted at the airport. Within the closed loop, Samaranch said, “171 people yielded positive results out of 1.7 million — 0.01 percent.

These are very small numbers, but it doesn’t matter if it is 0.01 if you are the 0.01.

“That is what has taken us most of the time and attention.”

Samaranch said from a peak of 48 people in isolation on February 4, on February 19 there were just two athletes and six other people isolated.

“By the time of the closing ceremony, hopefully, we’ll have none,” he said.

Samaranch added that among those 171 positive cases, “all can be traced to close contacts, positive at the airport, none can be traced to within the loop.”

Zhang said 97,000 spectators have attended the Games so far, and more are expected at the Closing Ceremony. There are 19,000 volunteers, 12,000 media and one now very famous mascot, Bing Dwen Dwen.

With 2 billion viewers world-wide, Zhang said these were the most-watched Winter Games.

Monday is the peak departure day with 6,048 people leaving China on 36 airplanes carrying 20,000 pieces of luggage. An additional 2,258 will leave on Tuesday.

“You will go home and I hope that the gloom of the pandemic will be dispelled soon,” Zhang said, “and everyone can return to Beijing and enjoy the charms of a two-time Olympic city.”

While the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games will come to a close, the 139th IOC Session will not end until May 20. Following the decision to streamline the institutional meetings in Beijing due to the pandemic, the session will conclude via videoconference in three months.

And, of course, Beijing will host the Paralympic Games next month.

Samaranch told the Session that despite the tremendous operational difficulties of operating under a closed loop management system, when it came to areas such as transport, food and all technical operations, “They have not been different from other editions.”

He added that “The Games have happened flawlessly,” which led to suspending meetings of his commission after the second day.

Weather issues which have plagued some of the snow events, Samaranch said, are simply attributable to these being Winter Games.

“We’ve had safe games in the most difficult environment that could be there,” Samaranch said. “It has been a wonderful ride. It has been really great.”

IOC President Thomas Bach, who will deliver his final remarks during the Closing Ceremony, said the success of the Games depends on the athletes and the venues.

“You have seen how much they enjoyed being in these Games, how grateful they were,” Bach said. “We can say the Olympic spirit is alive and in these times of high tensions in the world maybe more important than before.”

He praised the Chinese organizers for being determined with great efficiency and dynamism.

“The Games are coming to an end so successfully,” Bach said.

He announced that the IOC has awarded the prestigious Olympic Cup to the people of the People’s Republic of China.

“You can be very proud of what you have achieved,” Bach said.