Interview: China delivers "safe, welcoming" Winter Games, says Ecuadorian Olympian

MEXICO CITY, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing 2022 Winter Games have delivered athletes a "safe" and "welcoming" Olympic experience, no easy feat amid the pandemic, according to Ecuadorian Olympian Sarah Escobar.

Escobar, an alpine skier who became the first Ecuadorian woman to compete in a Winter Olympics at Beijing 2022, told Xinhua she hoped her first trip to China would not be her last.

"This is my first time in China. I love it, I love it. I want to come back," said the 20-year-old, one of the youngest athletes at the Games.

The Ecuadorian added that China's combination of organizational flair for hosting large-scale events and people-to-people skills have impressed and pampered the athletes.

"They know how to make a really good first impression -- everything is so organized," said Escobar.

"All the Chinese volunteers are so considerate, so helpful and so willing to go out of their way for all the athletes. They work so hard just to make us feel safe, feel welcomed and feel at home," she said.

Escobar was born in the United States to Ecuadorian parents, and began skiing at the age of three, during a family trip to a ski resort in the U.S. state of Vermont.

In 2020, she participated at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Switzerland, and this time she competed in the women's Giant Slalom at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Center, placing 60th in the first round but unable to finish the second.

Escobar noted that the experience was unforgettable and invaluable, as she sees Beijing as a stepping stone to bigger Olympic achievements.

"Going into these Olympic Games, my goal was to learn from the best athletes here, taking this as a kind of a practise experience and a warm up to prepare for the next Winter Olympic Games, to represent my country again," said Escobar, who carried Ecuador's flag into Beijing's National Stadium during the opening ceremony.

"Being a flag bearer for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has been the biggest honor I have ever had in my entire life," Escobar said.

Along the way, she hopes her journey from the bunny slopes to Beijing 2022 will inspire other young people, especially young girls, to follow their dreams.

"I went in bearing the flag for all women, for all girls my age who want to compete in such prestigious sports," she said.

What advice would she give to other aspiring athletes?

"Whenever I feel really nervous or anxious, I always convince myself: 'you're doing great, you're an inspiration, you're strong'," she said, adding "never give up on yourself."