National team "shivers" through day off / Ice hockey players very popular
Cold, colder, Pyeongchang! The national ice hockey players actually wanted to go up to the mountains on their training Monday to watch the women's giant slalom and keep their fingers crossed for gold candidate Viktoria Rebensburg. But nothing came of it. The bus tour, which lasted around 40 minutes, had to be postponed. Reason: The slalom was canceled because the wind in the mountains was simply too strong. Instead, at 15.20:XNUMX p.m. local time, we headed towards Pyeongchang to attend at least one of the numerous events.
“It’s around -15 degrees in the mountains,” said DEB-Sports director Stefan Schaidnagel added: "Outdoor sports must not fall below minus 15 to minus 18 degrees below zero, because then there is an absolute ban on sport." Schaidnagel also kept in touch with the German House near the village in the mountains. He was told that it felt like minus 25 degrees because of the wind.
In Gangneung, near the Sea of Japan, where the German skid crackers are staying, you could also feel the cold. Although not quite as extreme as a few kilometers “further up”. Captain Marcel Goc: “It’s really whistling. It's a good thing we got so many clothes. But we all need them here too.” That means: Just getting dressed isn’t such an easy thing and has to be “planned”. On the bus to the sports facilities it is scorching hot, then extremely cold again. One or two players therefore had extra clothing in their backpack. Dressing and undressing multiple times is the order of the day.
What stands out: Apparently the German ice hockey players are well known in South Korea. The players are often asked for autographs or selfies by athletes from other sports as well as locals. “It's a very special atmosphere here,” said Patrick Hager and, above all, raved about the conditions in the Olympic Village: “You have everything here. You can eat anything 24 hours a day, there is a gym, massage chairs, table tennis tables and if you have any questions, you just walk a few meters to the service center. “It’s all perfectly organized.”
On Tuesday, national coach Marco Sturm will ask you to train again. It is important to prepare for the important game against Finland. It is well known that the opponents are tough. Nevertheless, the German boys are going into the tournament with self-confidence. “We don’t just want to be tourists here,” said Christian Ehrhoff recently.