Jiří Zedníček

“At that time me and two friends of mine went to town in the morning because we had a free day. We heard the sirens but because it was previously announced that the German president would visit the Olympic village that day, we did not pay any attention. But upon return some two hours later, we could see that the area from the metro exit towards the main gate of the Olympic village which was normally crammed with badge and signature collectors was completely empty. We did not know what was going on. Only at the gate did we learn what had happened. It then lasted the whole day, followed by the evening tragedy at the airport which claimed the lives of another, I believe, fourteen people.”

“I think that using the Olympics for the presentation of any political opinions is wrong. Look, there had been much talk about this before and during the Beijing Olympics of 2008. But the Olympic Games are the only space in which sportsmen and women coming from various political setups, from various countries, compete with each other and also meet each other. For instance the Olympic village is an incredibly peaceful place where sportsmen from various countries, which may well be at war with each other, get to sit to next other. And to use this space for the assertion of political opinions is very tricky. Because if we present our political opinions loudly in there, we must accept that so will the others with whom we deeply disagree. And suddenly, it will begin to transform from a sports event into a battle of political thought. I think it is good that the Olympics are in this regard, to the extent possible, purified of politics. In the end, from the ancient times there had been something like an Olympic armistice – in the course of the Olympics no wars would be waged. I wish it were the same today.”