Milan Athletes Welcome Return of Winter Olympics Spectators

The 2022 Beijing Games were staged largely in silence, with strict coronavirus rules keeping most fans away and leaving many venues nearly empty. Only specially invited and screened local visitors could attend, and friends and family watched from home. Brittany Bowe, who won bronze in Beijing, said standing on the podium “felt quite empty.” She added that athletes missed having the people they love there to share the moment: “I think it was kind of the same for a lot of athletes.” These Olympics, opening in Milan, will be the first Winter Games since Pyeongchang in 2018 with paying fans in attendance, and competitors say they are eager for the noise.

Casey Dawson, who also medaled in Beijing, said he was looking forward to “a little extra noise,” after an experience in 2022 that included a positive test, 45 preflight tests and competing on borrowed skates; “The whole Covid-19 pandemic tainted the experience,” he said.

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