Julia Schmid, who was slated to become Hungary’s first-ever canoe slalom Olympian, has withdrawn from the Games after the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) made vaccinations obligatory for athletes competing in Tokyo.
Schmid, an Austrian-born athlete who has been representing Hungary since 2019, qualified to compete in Tokyo through quota redistribution, and owns a pair of World Championship bronze medals in K1 team (2005) and C1 team (2015).
The MOB only recently made vaccinations mandatory for its athletes competing in Tokyo. Schmid maintained that she is not against taking the vaccine—in fact, she’s a veterinarian, believes in vaccines, and was planning on receiving her shots after the Games.
Schmid had arrived in Tokyo prior to the MOB making vaccines mandatory, and wasn’t willing to receive her first shot so close to the beginning of the Games (adding that only getting the first shot wouldn’t assure her immunity anyway).
Wegry, Tokio 2020
Julia Schmid, slalom canoe-kajak, nie wezmie udzialu w wyszczepionych Igrzysk Olimpijskich po decyzji Wegierskiego Komitetu Olimpijskiego, ze tylko zawodnicy chronieni (wyszprycowani) przed Covid-19 moga byc czlonkami wegierskiej druzyny.https://t.co/GaNzmM5F30 pic.twitter.com/Jhzmijs9DM— Feniks (@Feniks82948212) July 18, 2021
When asked why she didn’t get herself vaccinated earlier, Schmid pointed to the slew of events she was scheduled to compete in. When she had an opening in her schedule, she says she was sick with symptoms such as migraines and vomiting (unclear if at all COVID-related).
She then was reportedly met in her hotel by MOB officials, who told her she would either need to get vaccinated right away or she would be forced to travel back home.
Schmid is 33, and said that she has been training twice a day for 10 years—on top of her day job— to compete at the Olympics.
Due to Schmid’s late withdrawal, Switzerland’s Alena Marx is now “rushing” to Tokyo to fill the spot.
“The MOB only recently made vaccines mandetory”. What is “recently”? According to the article you pulled this from, she was asked why she didn’t get vaccinated in “recent months”. She used the Michael Andrew defense.
Hungary is doing a good job getting all of it’s citizens vaccinated. They’re ahead of the US. I guess that’s not saying much, but she had a lot of time before it was mandated by them.
Oh well! Nobody should be forced to take any vaccine. However, nobody has the right to put others in harms way. Thats what all these anti-vaxers do not understand. It is not just about them. Thats why schools have required immunizations. You dont want them for your child, awesome. Your child just will not attend and put others at risk.
Andrew is shaking on the background
“HUNGARIAN CANOE-KAYAKER WITHDRAWS FROM OLYMPICS DUE TO OBLIGATORY VACCINATION”
well, that’s a misleading title.
Her option was that the Hungarian Olympic Committee offered to get the first dose 7 days before her event. She refused that. She should have been told it was mandatory IN TIME for the vaccine to be affective. It was a recent and rushed decision. understandable but still, her approach is reasonable as well.
Yes, I understand being worried about side effects, but if your choices are compete in the Olympics with the small potential of having to deal with side effects while competing, and not competing at all, I’m confused why you would choose not competing at all. It doesn’t make sense.
I agree, I would choose the vaccine. I don’t know her reasons about worrying about the side affects but it sounds like she thinks she may have a bad reaction.
Don’t know why she didn’t do it earlier. Hungary has a good vaccination rate, unlike the US. There have been enough people for months that could tell her she’ll have a sore arm for a couple of days.