It is cold in South Korean Pyeongchang, where the Winter Games start on Friday. Logical and good as well as you need snow and ice for Winter Games, but the current freezing cold causes some practical problems.
These temperatures are at first glance however: at present it is cold but certainly not insurmountable for winter sports enthusiasts with freezing temperatures during the day to -5 ° during the day and to -12 ° at night. In addition, during the coming days, the mercury would climb above freezing during the day. But ... the temperature of the sensation is a lot lower: do not worry about ten degrees each time. And that causes stress.
Package for opening ceremony
The opening ceremony will take place on Friday 9 February at 8 pm local time (12 noon Belgian time) and then it would "freeze" only two to five degrees in South Korea, but the wind chill would drop to ten degrees below zero. And ate is already cold: for the spectators and the athletes.
The organization therefore provides fans with a package including a blanket, a hat and an extra wind jacket. But also the athletes do not like the ducks, because they often have to wait for hours at a ceremony to just walk around.
Attack on material
Worse, however, is the attack on the material. Because of the cold, the ski rats will be able to deform the dustbin after one day. That told Craig Randell, a technician who is due for his third Olympics, to Reuters.
"One of the coaches told me they would throw their skis in the dustbin after one day," adr Craig Randell on a chilly morning at the Yongpyong Alpine Center where the slalom, giant slalom and other events will take place later this month. "There's nothing you can do about it: the cold temperatures keep the snow from sticking to the skis, causing them to deform slightly. That distortion is minimal but if you are an athlete who trains to be the best in the world, count every small millisecond and every detail. "
"You need a different pair of skis for every run," agrees the Austrian skier Marcel Hirscher. "Snow crystals become very sharp at temperatures down to -20 degrees."
Everyone is happy that in the coming days it will be a little warmer in Pyeongchang.