Emma Terho, the chairman of the Athletes ‘Committee, takes care of the athletes’ quarantine. When the isolation ends, Terho wants to meet the missing Chinese tennis player.
Emma Terho has represented Finland five times in the hockey Olympic tournament, but as sports director, he has been watching the Beijing Winter Olympics on television so far.
He has only felt the race atmosphere at Beijing Airport and the open window of his hotel room.
“Pretty ascetic. The days are spent remotely in meetings, on the phone and food is brought to the room, ”Terho tells HS about his mood by phone.
Terho, 41, was placed in hotel quarantine in Beijing on Saturday when his corona test proved positive.
My quarantine ends when Terho has given two negative prc tests or ten days have passed since the positive test result.
“After that, I’m corona negative. Now I have had two borderline cases in the test results. At least I can’t get away today, ”Emma lamented when she missed the opening game of Finnish women’s hockey against the United States, which was included in Thursday night’s program.
“It’s a little funny to be quarantined when I have no symptoms. I feel healthy, but I have to go according to the protocol. The Beijing corona bubble is tight and there have been apparently few infections. ”
Although As an athlete, Terho is an Olympic veteran, and for the first time in Beijing he will chair the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes Commission.
He was elected to the position at the IOC meeting in August 2021 in connection with the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Emma won the pole vault double Olympic gold medalist Yelena Isinbayevan.
The chairman of the Athletes’ Commission is precisely the mouthpiece for athletes at the Olympics. During the HS interview, Terho warns that he will have to answer another phone if it rings.
One of the main tasks of the Athletes’ Commission is to make athletes feel safe at the Olympics. During a pandemic, the task is even more important and much more employable.
“Everything is asked and there are many things on the table. Transportation seems to cause the most work. Although designed and practiced, when they come true, they don’t immediately work properly. There have been problems with transport, especially at the airport. ”
Terho has been a member of the Sports Commission since the previous 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Terho (born Laaksonen) is also a member of the IOC Board.
Thursday In Beijing, Terho remotely followed the IOC General Assembly, which tentatively decided to eliminate boxing, weightlifting and modern pentathlon at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
At the same time, the IOC decided that the 2028 Olympic program will have a strong focus on youth. At the age of sixteen, he was the youngest Finnish Olympic medalist at the 1988 Nagano Olympic Ice Hockey. In 2010, Terho won his second bronze medal in Vancouver.
According to Terho, the practical guidelines will be clear later. At this point, the IOC’s announcement is perhaps more of a threat than a final verdict.
“The situation for these species is difficult. Athletes should not suffer because the management of the sport is rotten and poor, ”says Terho.
Boxing has been about corruption and manipulating match results. There have been doping carts and disguise in weightlifting. As such, weightlifting is a basic sport in almost every sport.
The pentathlon came under the spotlight last summer at the Tokyo Olympics over the cruel treatment of horses associated with riding and the low popularity of the sport among youth.
“Each species is evaluated by different metrics. The species is forced to regenerate. The administration must be in order. Otherwise, the sports are not in the Olympics, ”says Terho.
The fate of the missing Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai is unclear.
Terhon aims to meet a Chinese tennis star in Beijing Peng Shuaithe disappearance of which shocked the sports world last year.
In November 2021, Peng accused the former Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaolia sexual harassment and exploitation
Later, Peng has told Terho, among others, on the phone that he is well and okay.
“I have been involved in the discussions. The IOC team has been in contact with Peng and has expressed in calls that he is looking forward to the Games. He is also expected to be watching the races as well. It is important to see him face to face when he succeeds after quarantine, ”says Terho.
Spectators are admitted to the Beijing Olympics selectively, but tickets are not on sale due to the pandemic.
“I hope to get to see the races myself as soon as possible. There would be a lot of program to participate in. ”
By the way, how much has China’s human rights issues been on the agenda at the IOC under the Beijing Olympics?
“Of course they have been talked about. It cannot be said that they were swept under the rug during the Games. Personally, I have been quite poorly involved in that topic when there have been a lot of operational issues, ”says Terho.
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