Although the size of the participating athletes has shrunk from previous Winter Olympics, the Slovenians have made history in Beijing. The Beijing Winter Olympics schedule is not yet halfway through, and the Slovenian delegation has won 2 gold medals and 5 medals, doubling the total number of gold medals in Slovenia's history of the Winter Olympics.
In an exclusive interview with the client reporter of Beijing Daily, Tomaz Barada, vice president of the Slovenian Olympic Committee and head of the delegation to the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, was very happy. He said that under the epidemic, the organization of the Beijing Winter Olympics was successful. Referring to the Slovenian athletes' national ski jumping center "Snow Ruyi", Tomaz bluntly said that the competition conditions of "Snow Ruyi" are similar to those in The world-famous ski jumping resort in Slovenia, Pranica, and Slovenian ski jumpers feel like "competing at home".
Ski jumping is a traditional strength of Slovenia. With 8 jumps, Planica, located in northwestern Slovenia, is home to the world's most important ski jumping events. However, in Beijing, Slovenians are still tasting the winter Olympic ski jump gold medal for the first time.
In fact, according to Su Lan, Slovenia's ambassador to China, the National Ski Jumping Center "Xue Ruyi", which is a landmark building of the Beijing Winter Olympics, has Slovenian engineers responsible for the design of all buildings on its concrete foundation. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Slovenian athletes are able to get away with the snow.
In response, Tomaz said that Slovenian ski jumpers believe that the conditions of the "Snow Ruyi" competition are similar to those of Planica, where they feel like "at home".
As Tomaz said, Ulsa Bogatay, two gold medallists in the women's individual standard ski jump and mixed team, praised the unique and beautiful appearance of the Snow Ruyi. She said that "Snow Ruyi" not only provides good competition conditions, but also allows athletes from all over the world to appreciate the unique charm of Chinese culture.
"Slovenia loves sports, and not only did we excel at the Beijing Winter Olympics, but at the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021, we have achieved the best results in the history of the Summer Olympics." Thomas said Slovenia is a small country, and the flashes of the Olympic Games have allowed Slovenia to gain global attention and increase its influence in the world.
The special background of the spread of the epidemic around the world makes the organization of the Beijing Winter Olympics different from the past. Thomas said it was indeed a huge challenge for the organizers, but the Slovenian delegation still had good memories in Beijing. They were happy with the accommodation in the Winter Olympic village and despite some minor problems, they were all resolved very quickly. Public transport in the region is also well connected, and Slovenian athletes and managers are equally satisfied.
Thomas said he would like to thank the organizers that despite the many difficulties, the organization of the Beijing Winter Olympics was successful.
Ursa also mentioned that in the face of the inconvenience caused by the epidemic, China has done a great job. She is happy for all that China has done to host the Winter Olympics.