Austria anticipates fun and Games

VIENNA－Austrian athletes are looking forward to participating in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and hope to have a good time at the Games, according to the country's skiing chief.

Christian Scherer, secretary-general of the Austrian Ski Federation, told Xinhua in a recent interview that both he and his nation's winter sports athletes have high expectations for Beijing 2022.

Scherer said that China's vast experience in staging large-scale competitions, including the 2008 Summer Olympics, bodes well for the 2022 Winter Games.

"We are looking forward to meeting friendly volunteers and experiencing a new culture, so we hope to have a good time in Beijing 2022," he said.

Scherer stressed that as a traditional snow sports powerhouse, Austria is eyeing medals in all such disciplines on the mountains around Zhangjiakou, Hebei province.

Austria is particularly strong in alpine skiing, ski jumping and Nordic events, while the team also harbors hopes of collecting silverware in snowboard and freestyle skiing.

Scherer noted that due to the coronavirus pandemic, Austrian athletes have been unable to visit the Olympic venues and conduct adaptive training in China.

However, he added that the team hopes to experience the venues in Beijing as soon as possible and are making preparations in anticipation of such a scenario.

He also told Xinhua that during the 2020/2021 winter season, Austria successfully hosted nearly 50 World Cup and world championship events, thanks to the implementation of strict epidemic prevention measures.

He added that Beijing 2022 can learn from this experience, and that the Austrian Ski Federation is willing to provide Games organizers with relevant information if required.

Xinhua