The return flight for the Peiner Sanjay Weber-Spickschen starts this Monday. The chief physician at the Clinic for Trauma Surgery and Sports Medicine at the Peine Clinic was a team physician for the German national team at the Olympic Games for a good two weeks. It was the first Olympic Games of the former decathlete of the LG Edemissen / Peine. In the PAZ interview he talks about …
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The quarantine: “She was consistent. We were only in the Olympic village or at the competition venues. There were shuttle buses for the routes in between. There was no contact with the population, but there were many people standing along the way and waving or holding up signs with greetings. The Olympic village is quite large and the cafeteria was open 24 hours a day. There was a little small talk there, but otherwise the contact options were very limited. We were tested every day and luckily there was no corona case. “
The climatic conditions: “It was quite warm and the humidity was very high. It could be quite hot at 6 o’clock in the morning. But we were prepared for it, we had dealt with the climate and prepared the athletes accordingly. Many disciplines were not held until the evening hours, but the men’s shot put, for example, took place in the midday heat. “
The Olympic feeling: “It was a gigantic event with 11,000 athletes. You see athletes from countries that are otherwise not so often represented in international competitions. It was a shame that our athletes had to leave when their competition was over. Meetings, cheers or even parties – that was not possible. But when a medalist came back to the German House, there was a message and we met to a kind of reception committee. There I also met athletes who I don’t usually run into that often – for example tennis gold medalist Alexander Zverev. He had no words, you could see that the medal means a lot to him. “
The Olympic highlights: “Sharing the emotions with the athletes and the team, not just highs but also lows, will remain in my memory. From a medical point of view, it is a success to get an athlete fit to the point. It’s not always about medals, but also about good placements. One athlete whom I supervised intensively came in ‘only’ eighth, but achieved a personal best. That is also one of the very special experiences. At the same time, you suffer with the athletes and coaches, with whom you spent a lot of time in preparation, if the desired success does not materialize. “
The personal summary: “It was an amazing experience. We’re all pretty exhausted after two weeks. Sometimes I didn’t get to bed until 3 a.m. but had to get out again at 5 a.m. In addition, the tension before and during the games is very high. But I am very grateful that I was able to do this work for Germany and the national team. “
