From the second they land in Beijing, athletes, coaches, reporters, and officials are quarantined inside a massive, closed-loop isolation area that they are not permitted to leave. We asked athletes what it’s like to live inside the 2022 Winter Olympic bubble, and this is what they said.
“I love it. When, ever since your teenage years, you’ve surrendered 18 hours a day to skating in a circle, freedom is terrifying.”
“I don’t like that they sometimes make me take off my ice skates before going inside.”
“Wait, the Olympics are in Beijing? Shit, I’m in Montreal. I must have gotten the wrong info.”
“When I tried to run to the store yesterday, I was chased down by a floating white balloon. I awoke at the top of the luge and ended up winning bronze, so I can’t complain.”
“You can barely tell there’s a genocide of an ethnic minority going on outside of here!”
“It seems nice at first. Everyone is polite, the food is decent, everything seems catered to you. Then, bam! You’re suddenly forced to compete against people from around the world in a high stakes, winner-takes-all tournament of champions for the viewing pleasure of millions around the world.”
“Do you mind? I’m kinda in the middle of a quad jump right now.”
“I’m not supposed to be here, and they won’t let me out.”
“It’s a great place to enjoy a Red Bull in your Oakleys with the rest of the U.S. Snowboard Team, thanks to Nike.”
“There’s a very thin man who walks back and forth in the corridors whose mission appears to be smoothing out any indentations our shoes make in the carpeting. I thought he worked for the Olympics, but he hides when he sees other employees.”
“It’s actually nice being in an environment that has Covid precautions for a change!”
“Snowboarding is supposed to be a social sport, but when I’m trapped in my room, forced to snowboard on my blankets and pillows, it’s not as fun.”
“I keep hearing all this talk about an Olympic Village? What is everyone talking about? I’ve been sleeping in a bobsled for a week.”
“In the Olympic biathlon event, you ski fast and shoot stuff with a rifle. If I wanted to escape this bubble, I could. Easily.”
“We aren’t allowed to leave our rooms, even to compete. Instead we have to stay inside and remotely control robot versions of ourselves.”
“It took a while to get used to being fed by the food cannons, but anything to stop unnecessary contact must be good.”
“Most of us spend our free time at the 24-hour Olympian-only pansexual orgy, so it’s pretty much like all the other Olympics.”
“Wow. Holy shit. Maybe the real bubble is the world outside the Olympics.”