"This is a prison" Olympic athletes confirmed positive, 'boiling' in quarantine facilities

German Simon Geschke: "The Most Useless Trip of My Athletic Career"
Netherlands National Team Also Experienced Discomfort in Quarantine Hotel

A photo posted on Twitter by Simon Geschke, a member of the German national cycling team / Photo by Twitter Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Athletes who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and isolated in separate facilities during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are voicing complaints. They claim that the facilities were poor and the meals provided were inadequate, reflecting an overall lack of service.

Simon Geschke, a German national cyclist, explained his experience of being isolated during the Olympics in an interview with the British cycling magazine 'Cycling Weekly' on the 8th (local time). Geschke tested positive for COVID-19 on the 23rd of last month and was unable to compete, instead being isolated in a separate facility.

In the interview, Geschke indirectly expressed his dissatisfaction, saying, "I am very glad to be returning after the most useless trip of my athletic career."

Gesche expressed dissatisfaction, saying that the meals provided in the quarantine facility were also inadequate. / Photo by Twitter Capture

During his isolation, Geschke expressed complaints about meals and living conditions through his social media accounts. After posting photos of the hotel, he described it as "like a prison," saying, "The windows are locked, and you can only leave the room three times a day."

He also stated, "At 7 a.m. there is a temperature check, and the speaker on the ceiling wakes me up," and claimed that the meals, consisting only of rice, soy sauce, cabbage, and broccoli, were nutritionally insufficient.

Geschke was not the only athlete who experienced discomfort in the COVID-19 isolation facilities. Candy Jacobs, a Dutch national skateboarder, also tested positive on the 21st of last month, giving up her Olympic participation and being isolated in a separate facility.

According to a report by the Japanese media 'Mainichi Shimbun' on the 2nd, Jacobs and five other Dutch athletes and officials were isolated in a government-designated hotel in Japan. They demanded that the windows be opened and staged a sit-in protest in the lobby lasting 7 to 8 hours.

Dutch female skateboard national team member Candy Jacobs revealed the COVID-19 positive patient isolation facility / Photo by Twitter Capture

In a post on her Instagram account, Jacobs lamented, "The hotel where we are isolated does not have windows that open, so we cannot breathe fresh air, and there is a lack of fresh air," calling the situation "very inhumane."

She also appealed, "There is a lack of nutritious meals for the athletes," and said, "Mentally, I was pushed into a very dead-end situation."

Meanwhile, the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed by one year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, opened on the 23rd of last month and closed on the 8th. Due to COVID-19, athletes who finished their events were required to leave the Olympic Village within 48 hours. As a result, most athletes reportedly left for their home countries during conversations.

During the games, athletes, facility staff, and volunteers also tested positive for COVID-19. According to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee, as of the 7th, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases related to the Olympics was 409.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.