Chelmsford-born Gus Kenworthy, who won slopestyle silver at Sochi 2014, will be competing for Britain in Beijing; the openly-gay athlete believes he has a routine good enough to win a medal; he also gives his views on Russian teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva
Wednesday 16 February 2022 16:40, UK
British freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy says he feels stressed and nervous about cyber security and Covid-19 at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The 30-year old, who won slopestyle silver at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi for USA, switched allegiances to compete for the country of his birth in 2019.
Born to a British mother and American father, Kenworthy is not feeling 100 per cent safe due to a number of issues.
"I don't feel in imminent danger, I mean in Sochi there were people walking around with guns outside the athletes' village. I feel like that was more unsettling than anything that I've seen here but certainly cyber security is pretty concerning," said Kenworthy, who is also an actor and starred in the hit US drama American Horror Story: 1984.
"I feel like I spent the last week or so before I flew out here stressed about passwords and phones and things versus my performance, being healthy and getting good sleep.
"Also because of the Covid protocol, I guess I feel nervous. I don't feel nervous at all that I could have Covid because we're taking every possible precaution. You still submit a test every day and ultimately somebody else says whether that test is positive or not and that changes as to whether you can compete.
"I feel like I have fear at the back of my mind."
Prior to travelling, Kenworthy said China should not be able to host an Olympics due to its poor human rights record and issues including the difficulties faced by the LGBTQ+ community.
Kenworthy, who is openly gay, said: "I still stand by what I said, I'm strongly opinionated on the matter, but I'm not going to speak out on it while I'm here because there are laws in place and the powers that be, I just wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardise my chance to ski and perform while I'm here.
"I'm keeping my mouth shut for the moment."
Kenworthy also believes it is "crazy" that figure skater Kamila Valieva, who has failed a drugs test, is being allowed to continue to compete at the Games.
Valieva, who finished first in the short program on Tuesday, tested positive at her national championships in December but the result was not revealed until February 8, after she had already competed at the Games in the team event.
Valieva will not face a hearing for her doping charge until well after the end of the Games while Olympic officials will not award the medals until the doping case is resolved.
"What's happening in figure skating, it's making athletes think about whether it's a level playing field out there," said Kenworthy.
"When we start, we're told by the USADA's, UKAD's (anti-doping agencies) that if you take banned substances it needs consequences; we're told it's strict liability and you are responsible for what goes into your body.
"If you do fail a [doping] test they should pay the price."
Kenworthy moved to the US at the age of two and grew up in Colorado, but holds a British passport and qualifies to compete for GB Snowsport having been born in Chelmsford in Essex.
His British-born mother has guided him throughout his career since first picking up his poles, and he says he will dedicate his performances at Beijing to her - his final Winter Games.
"This is definitely going to be my last - my swansong if you will - and I just want to do it for my mum," he said in an interview with Sky Sports in 2019.
"She has been my number one supporter; she learned how to ski when I learned how to ski. She was 40 and I was three and it was this thing that we fell in love with together.
"She is British, I was born over here and I'm just going to pay tribute to her and my heritage and do it for Great Britain.
"It's not very common for a medallist to switch countries but lots of people do choose to ski for a country that one of their parents was from.
"I would just like to be part of the growth of GB. I want to come in and bring more eyeballs and more attention to GB Snowsport and have a path of lesser resistance than I have had in the US.
"I compete in multiple disciplines and for the US, our qualifying process is right up until the Games. It is rigorous and my body was basically destroyed right up until the last Olympic Games.
"For GB, I will be able to have my rest ahead of time, focus on tricks, and focus on how well prepared I can be for the Games."
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