Photo: CFP

China's efforts to host the Beijing Winter Olympics are remarkable, said the Portuguese delegation's head of mission to the event. He noted that, "we are there for the sports, we are there because of the Olympic spirit. And that's what we have to focus on and nothing else," refuting certain slanders and politicizations of the Olympic Games. 

In an interview with the Global Times on Friday, Pedro Farromba, member of the Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP) and President of the Federation of Winter Sports of Portugal (FDIP), praised China's preparation for the Winter Olympics as "remarkable."

Photo: Pedro Farromba, member of the Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP) and President of the Federation of Winter Sports of Portugal (FDIP)

Farromba said the Portugal side has been in several meetings with the Beijing Organizing Committee since one year ago, and they have been taking all necessary measures to avoid being infected with COVID-19 while travelling to China.

Portugal will send its largest delegation ever to the Beijing Winter Olympics, Farromba told Chinese media in October, 2021. He told the Global Times that there will be nine people in Portugal's delegation, including three athletes.

Portuguese representatives include alpine skiers Ricardo Brancal and Vanina de Oliveira, and cross-country skier José Cabeça.

The three athletes are currently training in Norway, Italy and France, respectively, and they will first return to Portugal on the weekend before traveling to Beijing next week. 

It's the first time that we have three different athletes in three different events, two in alpine skiing, one for men and one for women, and another for cross-country skiing, said Farromba. 

"Our expectations are to increase the level of the sports in Portugal," said Farromba, noting that for a beach country such as Portugal, participation in winter sports is taking small steps, but the goal is to develop such kinds of sports in the country.

Farromba has lead Portugal's delegation to several Winter Olympics, including the Olympics in Sochi and Pyeongchang. "[For the Beijing Winter Olympics] we have no audience watching the events. We cannot travel wherever we want, we cannot interact with the local people. So these kind of restrictions will make the games different," he said.

Recently, there have also been some media reports saying that some countries warned their athletes not to bring their personal phones or computers to the Beijing Winter Olympics, citing fears that China may "monitor their devices."

Farromba whisked off such claims, saying that he does not have any problem with that. He protested that the media often tends to make different kind of news about the Olympics, such as what happened during the Winter Olympics in Sochi and Pyeongchang.

"We are there for the sports. We are there because of the Olympic spirit. And that's what we have to focus on and nothing else."