China’s human rights record made Winter Olympics ‘irresponsible’, says Swedish athlete

Van der Poel told Sportbladet he had ‘a very nice experience behind the scenes’, but that the decision to give Beijing the Games was ‘terrible’. Photograph: Matsuo K/AFLO/REX/Shutterstock

A Swedish gold medallist has said it was “extremely irresponsible” to hold the Winter Olympics in China because of the government’s human rights record.

Nils van der Poel, a 25-year-old speedskater, made the comments after returning home from the Beijing event, where officials have been at pains to keep politics and protest out despite diplomatic boycotts.