Paralympics in Tokyo: "Olympics have shown: It works"

Some discomfort remains.

Some speak of "mixed feelings".

Some would even understand if the Paralympics were canceled.

But overall, the 134 German Paralympics athletes are looking forward to the Games in Tokyo, which will start in two weeks.

The Olympic Games, which have just ended, have largely nourished confidence that despite the corona pandemic, a reasonably fair sporting competition can take place in the Japanese capital with the greatest possible security.

“During the Games, we are the most seamlessly monitored group on the planet,” says five-time Paralympic winner Michael Teuber in a survey by the German Press Agency: “The Olympics have shown that the system works. A lot has been done to ensure that there is no global superspreader event. "

His cycling team mate Matthias Schindler, like Teuber starting for Munich, assures: "I am convinced of the hygiene concept and of the opinion that the risk of infection from the measures on site is lower than at home." And sprinter Maria Tietze from Leverkusen, for which, as for Schindler, will be the first games, explains: "I believe that in the current Corona context there is hardly a better country to host the games than Japan.

The rules are meticulously observed, there are no exceptions and no gray areas. "

"With mixed feelings"

But even Tietze admits to having a “somewhat queasy feeling” with a view to arriving by plane. All in all, I stay optimistic and stick to the rules. Then I will not endanger anyone and reduce my personal risk even further. ”With racing wheelchair driver Alhassane Baldé, this weak feeling is even more pronounced before his fourth game. “If Tokyo were to be taken away from me as an athlete, it would be difficult to cope with. As a normal citizen, given the current situation, I would have understood if the games had been canceled, ”says the 35-year-old. "The Olympic and Paralympic Games would not have lost their appeal if Tokyo had been canceled."

The pandemic has not yet been defeated, “or not yet under control in many parts of the world. In addition, the majority of the population in Japan was against it, ”said the Bonn native. “I understand that that would have been bad news for us athletes and the many sports enthusiasts in the world. But I believe that one should have acted differently with a view to Paris 2024 in order to get the pandemic under control properly. ”That is why, despite all the anticipation, he is traveling to Japan“ with mixed feelings ”.

But there is also the relief that the games will take place at all and finally after the cancellation last year. “The postponement threw the sporting plans overboard,” says Annika Zeyen (35): “Everything was realigned for the 2021 Paralympics. And it is good that it starts now and the Paralympics are taking place. ”Schindler thinks it is important“ that athletes away from football are given the opportunity to show themselves and present their sport again. The special role of football has given me pause for thought in the past few months. "

Zeyen has already played four games as a wheelchair basketball player, won one gold and two silver medals, and now she's starting her bike for the first time. But that's not the only reason why she expects “a completely different experience than all previous Paralympics. Much like the German House, the audience or the family on site will be missing. But ultimately it's about the sporting competition. ”The two-time Paralympic winner Sebastian Dietz from Bad Oeynhausen sees it similarly. He is traveling to Tokyo “with a good feeling”. “Of course you also think about certain things,” he says. "The joy of the competition is greater than anything else."