BEIJING (AP) 鈥� Football, video games and dress-up are some of the ways athletes at the Beijing Olympics are keeping busy when they're not competing.
As part of the strict COVID-19 protocols, athletes and others at the Games can only move between select sites, Keeping them in that 鈥渂ubble鈥� is supposed to prevent the virus from getting in or out in the local population. That means athletes can't go out and explore the city during their off time.
Here's how some are spending their time instead.
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NAME: Paul Schommer
SPORT: Biathlon
COUNTRY: U.S.A.
Tossing around a football and playing video games help Paul Schommer and his biathlon team pass the time. Their game of choice at the moment is Mario Kart, which they play on their smartphones.
鈥淚鈥檓 not as into it as some of my teammates, but I definitely like to join in on that,鈥� the 29-year-old said.
Schommer also likes watching sports highlights and TV shows from back home. For reading, he has his Bible and a Kindle, on which he鈥檚 reading 鈥淎merican Buffalo,鈥� about author Steven Rinella鈥檚 hunt for the wild animal in the Alaskan wilderness.
The team also likes looking up trivia online, he says, such as how Green Bay Packer Equanimeous St. Brown got his name.
鈥淪ometimes you just spend half an hour diving deeper into these topics, and you just kind of, like, laugh at some of the crazy stories,鈥� he said.
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NAME: Tommy Ford
SPORT: Alpine Skiing
COUNTRY: U.S.A.
Tommy Ford expected temperatures at the mountain slope venues of the Beijing Winter Games to be chilly. He didn鈥檛 expect it to be as challenging to stay warm.
So to pass the time between practice and slalom runs, he and his teammates have played dress-up.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been trying a lot of different outfits on,鈥� Ford said, laughing.
That鈥檚 not the only thing he鈥檚 been doing to unwind. Someone in the Yanqing Olympic Village has a set of virtual reality goggles. That鈥檚 doing the trick, Ford said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a first-person shooter thing,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know a lot of shooter games, but that was pretty interesting. There鈥檚 also Fruit Ninja. We鈥檝e played a little Mario Kart.鈥�
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NAME: Niek van der Velden
SPORT: Snowboarding
COUNTRY: Netherlands
When Dutch snowboarder Niek van der Velden isn't strapped to his board, he likes playing video games with his teammates on the PlayStation they brought.
鈥淢ostly we鈥檙e gaming,鈥� van der Velden said after a practice session at the Shougang big air venue on Beijing鈥檚 outskirts. He said the lounge in the Olympic Village is also nice, and has table tennis.
He also likes watching short videos on YouTube and brought his DJ kit for his spare time. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 super chill,鈥� he said.
鈥斺赌斺赌�
NAME: Max Parrot
SPORT: Snowboard
COUNTRY: Canada
Max Parrot says there鈥檚 plenty at the Olympic Village to keep him busy.
鈥淭here鈥檚 like a huge gym with, like, two stories. It鈥檚 pretty big,鈥� said Parrot, who took the gold in the snowboarding slopestyle event and is also competing in the big air event. He said there are also pool tables, ping-pong tables and virtual reality games he has played 鈥渇or hours鈥� with teammate Seb Toutant.
Parrot said the virtual reality games are mind altering: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e on a submarine going underwater and you鈥檙e on a chair that moves,鈥� he said, noting that the motion gets you 鈥減retty dizzy.鈥�
Sports massages are also part of downtime, which has been scarce for Parrot since his comeback from cancer raised his public profile. 鈥淚 think the rest will will come after the games.鈥�
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NAME: Jason Brown
SPORT: Figure Skating
COUNTRY: U.S.A.
Video chatting on his mobile phone has helped keep figure skater Jason Brown connected with friends and family during the high-pressure competition.
But there is another phone app helping him pass the time in the bubble: Spider Solitaire.
It鈥檚 鈥渕y go-to game,鈥� said Brown, who wrapped up his Olympics last week as his teammate Nathan Chen clinched gold.
Still, the limitations on movement haven鈥檛 been as jarring as some suspected, he added.
鈥淚n the last few years, we鈥檝e gotten really used to COVID and all the protocols. We鈥檝e had to adapt in ways, kind of shut off and be isolated. So it鈥檚 almost like this is normal.鈥�
鈥斺赌斺赌�
NAME: Keegan Messing
SPORT: Figure Skating
COUNTRY: Canada
Keegan Messing hadn鈥檛 had a lot of time to process being in the Olympic bubble before it was his turn to skate in the men鈥檚 freestyle event last week. A positive COVID-19 test delayed his departure from Canada to Beijing, and he鈥檇 arrived just two days before his event.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a hurricane of emotions,鈥� Messing said. 鈥淭he lack of hugs, the lack of closeness, the old friends that you haven鈥檛 seen since the last games. It almost feels like a small piece of humanity is being left out of the mix.鈥�
The Canadian figure skater said he has coped with the complex emotions video chatting via his mobile phone.
鈥淚 do a lot of FaceTime with my son and my wife back home,鈥� he said.
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Kelvin Chan, Candice Choi And Aaron Morrison, The Associated Press
