An American ski champion’s words of praise for Olympic Games host China are being trumpeted by Beijing to counter a wave of bad publicity.
Aaron Blunck, a three-time Olympian and world champion freestyle skier, said at a Sunday press conference with other members of the American ski team that China has done “a stellar job with the whole COVID protocol.”
“Being stateside, you kind of heard of some pretty bad media, and that is completely false,” said Blunck.
China endured a major public relations hit when worldwide news reports surfaced of athletes traumatized by strict lockdown protocols after undergoing numerous COVID tests, including ones that are negative.
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In one viral video, Belgian skeleton athlete Kim Meylemans sobbed as she described being taken to a second isolation camp after already spending three days on lockdown outside the Olympic Village. She was only released after the International Olympic Committee intervened. American bobsledder Kaillie Humphries called the COVID experience “frustrating” and “scary.”
Other athletes describe tests that flip from positive to negative and back again and complained about the food and accommodations at quarantine hotels. One athlete missed her event, Yahoo Sports reported.
But for Blunck, the experience appears to have been vastly different. Chinese government officials and media were quick to pounce on his statement calling out the American press.
“The athletes are men of integrity! An important lesson to be learnt here: Don’t be misled by ‘some pretty bad media’. Just seek truth from facts,” tweeted Xie Yongjun, a division head with China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The athletes are men of integrity! An important lesson to be learnt here: Don’t be misled by “some pretty bad media”. Just seek truth from facts. https://t.co/m7CpjuObrA
— XIE Yongjun 解勇军 (@XIEYongjun_CHN) February 14, 2022
Xie retweeted a Hubei Satellite TV posting that incorrectly paraphrased Blunck’s news clip to say he had “seen irresponsible reports.”
Numerous other ambassadors and government officials tweeted state-owned China Daily’s video clip of Blunck’s comments, which included English and Chinese close captions. On Monday morning, the video was listed as the news site’s most popular.
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“It’s actually been phenomenal,” Blunck said of his experience so far. “Everybody from staff to COVID testers to accommodation, it’s probably one of the better Olympics that we’ve been to.”
