Olav Spahl, leader of the Belgian delegation at the Olympic Winter Games (pictured on the right), had said that Belgium was aiming for at least three medals in Italy. In hindsight, he has mixed feelings about Belgium’s performance. ‘I had expected more in some cases. Now we need to analyse more deeply where things went wrong.’
These were the words most often heard at the Lotto Belgium Pub in Milan when analysing Belgian performance after an event : mixed feelings. BOIC President Jean-Michel Saive (centre), CEO Cédric Van Branteghem (left) and delegation leader Olav Spahl all echoed these sentiments.
‘But we mustn't forget that we've won an Olympic medal for the third Games in a row,’ Spahl immediately points out.
Belgium won bronze in the 2,000-metre mixed relay in short-track speed-skating.
‘On the other hand, we also felt that we could have done better in some sports. We now need to analyse this in more depth, based on four criteria.’
Firstly, on a tactical level. ‘The questions I ask myself are: were all the tactical options on the table beforehand? If so, were they implemented correctly? And if not, why not?’
‘There are various reasons for this. I am thinking of the phenomenon of “Olympic brain fog”, which has been written about in some literature. Because you are in an Olympic tunnel for so long, your head eventually ends up in a foggy environment.’
‘The most important thing is that we have a fantastic skeleton team,’ says Spahl. ‘But we have to realise that ultimately it is the combination of the pilot and the equipment that determines who wins the medals.’
‘Our budget is 5% of that of the Germans and the Brits. So either we have to adjust our expectations or our budget has to go up. Although at the moment I don't know where that extra money would come from.’
The medical aspect will also be looked at. ‘Thanks to our medical staff, everyone who was here was able to participate.’
‘Some athletes had serious injuries in the run-up to the Games. They still made it to the Games, but it was not easy for them to become competitive.’
‘In the summer sports, we have already reached a good level in terms of preparing our athletes perfectly, but in the winter sports, we can still improve a little.’
A final aspect that is being examined is training. ‘We have very good scientists and universities. They can monitor our athletes' programmes and offer them the right support.’