, a terrible blow for winter athletes who often toil outside of the limelight, except every four years at the Games.“Who knows where those tests go, who handles the results,” Kenworthy said."It’s definitely in the back of the mind.”Often, athletes simply blanked when asked about human rights, saying they weren't qualified to speak on the issue or were focused on competition, and hunkered down.
On Twitter, Dutch speedskater Sanne in ’t Hof blocked, unblocked and then blocked again a Uyghur living in the Netherlands who posted critical comments of Olympians in what he called “genocide” Games. Mirehmet Ablet shared a screengrab with The AP showing that the skater had barred him from accessing
where she tweeted that she"enjoyed every second!' of her first Olympics. Ablet's brother was arrested in 2017 in the Uyghur homeland of Xinjiang in far western China, and Ablet doesn’t know where he’s now held.Hoffman, who competed for the U.S. at the 2014 and 2018 Games, said internal politics within teams may also have dissuaded athletes from speaking critically.