Between risk and responsibility – interview with stgallen24

The 2026 Winter Olympics in northern Italy came to an end on February 22. For the athletes, it was two intense weeks; for the Swiss Olympic medical team, it was a logistical and medical tour de force. Hanspeter Betschart, Chief Medical Officer of Swiss Olympic and Chief Physician at the Berit Sportclinic, takes stock and talks about infections, injuries, borderline decisions, and what needs to change structurally in elite sports.

Mr. Betschart, looking back on the two weeks, what were the three biggest medical risks that actually materialized, and what was overestimated in the run-up to the Games?

As always at the Olympic Games, infection prevention was one of the main topics. When athletes from different countries come together in a confined space in winter, the risk is high. This has been confirmed. We had one case of norovirus in the Swiss women's ice hockey team, which we quickly brought under control thanks to swift action, without any further cases. Even after Covid, it is clear that infections are one of the key medical challenges surrounding the Olympic Games.

The second risk concerns sports with a high potential for injury. In disciplines such as ice hockey and freestyle skiing, injuries occurred that unfortunately prevented some athletes from continuing their competitions as planned.

What tends to be underestimated are normal medical incidents. When so many athletes, staff members, and caregivers are on site, they too can experience medical problems that have nothing to do with the competition itself. That's also part of the Olympic Games.