"Pure kindergarten:" A lot of criticism of FIS after Kriechmayr training in Wengen
The Swiss Alpine Director Walter Reusser, for example, criticized the International Ski Federation (FIS). The fact that the FIS disregards its own rules is "a pure kindergarten," said Reusser. "It's not at all about Vincent Kriechmayr, but about the regulations that are there so that everyone knows what they have to do," emphasized the Swiss alpine director in an interview with ZDF.
"There are various athletes from different nations who don't start here because they follow the rules. Suddenly they are simply tipped over in one evening. It is not correct that an athlete does not have to do any training. It's against security." Swiss Ski President Urs Lehmann said on ORF: "It opens the door to discussions. That's the difficult point for me."
Before Wengen, not only Kriechmayr tested positive – Cyprien Sarrazin also got it. There was also a lack of understanding from French and German representatives. "If a runner in Germany does not have the approval of the national authorities, he does not have the approval. Then he won't come," said DSV head coach Christian Schwaiger. According to FIS information, however, no nation lodged an official protest, and in this case such a protest would only have a more or less symbolic effect.
Kriechmayr gave a positive corona test last Saturday. Shortly thereafter, the double world champion in downhill and super-G was negative again. The test submitted to the FIS was negative! Thus, the world association FIS gave the green light. However, because his positive findings were recorded by the Austrian health authorities, the top athlete had to remain in quarantine for five days until Wednesday and was unable to compete in the two downhill training sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to the rules, participation in the training sessions is not required to participate in a downhill run. On Thursday afternoon, however, the FIS wiped that off the table. Race director Markus Waldner explained: A runner only has to be on the start list for the training sessions – which was the case with Kriechmayr on Tuesday and Wednesday – and have to leave the original start once, then he can stop immediately and it would count as an alternative training session. This has been practiced in the past with athletes who fell ill at short notice, said Waldner.
Point 704.1 of the FIS International Competition Rules says: "The official downhill training is an integral part of the competition. The competitors are obliged to take part in the training. All qualified competitors entered for the competition must be entered and drawn in all official training runs." Point 704.8.3 states: "A competitor must take part in at least one timed practice run." Above all, however, it is also stated under 704 that "special regulations could be issued" for World Cups.
However, the jury decided that Vincent Kriechmayr should complete a "pseudo-training" on Thursday afternoon before the first Wengen descent. He drove out of the start house at 9.44 a.m., unbuckled after a few meters and went on to inspect the track. He then completed the shortened descent with start number 7 and finished twelfth, 1.26 seconds behind winner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.
"I was too straight in Langentrejen, then again before the Silberhorn jump, so I didn't keep up the pace," said the 30-year-old. "Kernen-S is the only thing I would have really liked to have had a training run on." He would also have liked to drive the starting corner once. Otherwise it wasn't necessarily a disadvantage that he couldn't do any training. "But I had fresher feet than my colleagues. I've ridden there a couple of times, so it's not that tragic."
Tags: CriticismFISkindergartenKriechmayrlotpuretrainingWengen
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