He had already posted a series of publications on the subject on Wednesday February 2 via his Instagram account. Former biathlete Martin Fourcade spoke this Friday morning on one of the controversies surrounding the Beijing Winter Olympics (February 4 to 20, whose opening ceremony is held at midday). If many critics fall on the snow of these Chinese Olympics, entirely artificial for the first time in the history of the Games, the five-time Olympic champion believes that they are partly unfair.
“It’s also a chimera to think that in France we ski on natural snow. 90% of French ski resorts are equipped with snow cannons, underlines at the microphone of France Inter the ex-athlete, currently campaigning to join the Athletes’ Commission of the International Olympic Committee. I’m not saying it’s good, but you’re toasting toast in the morning, is that good or not? Why is artificial snow stigmatised? »
“We use electricity to transform water into snow by sending it into the air, but I don’t see the difference that is made with heating the water in a swimming pool, continues Martin Fourcade, present in China and competition consultant for Eurosport. Of course, it is visible. But when it’s dark, and we turn on the light, we use electricity. Electricity is used everywhere. »
“I think we have to do better. We live in a world that is changing rapidly and today it is difficult to accept that, in order to do leisure, we have electricity consumption and a polluting activity. This is the case with winter sports as is the case with 100% of our society”, concludes the former biathlete, more disturbed by the fact that the Olympics have been awarded to China “a country which does not respect not necessarily human rights”.
“It shocks me more than planes running empty”
At the same time, another representative from the world of winter sports wanted to speak on the subject. One of the two standard bearers of the Blues, freestyler Kevin Rolland, was the guest of France Info. And the miraculous, who was close to death two years ago, also wanted to put the ecological consequences of these Olympics into perspective with different comparisons.
“It may be shocking. Artificial snow is not the greenest, but there is worse, he slips. When I see planes flying empty to maintain their trajectory, it shocks me more. When I see that Thomas Pesquet, the favorite personality of the French, leaves alone in a rocket in space, I do not see why we are not shocked. It’s not the best, but it’s not the worst. »
If these Winter Olympics in Beijing are the first to offer entirely artificial snow on the competition sites, 90% of the flakes in Pyeongchang four years ago already came from snow cannons. In Sochi in 2014, it was 80%. A marked trend for the Winter Games.