A waxer works in China's first ski wax truck with independent intellectual property in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Chen Zhonghao)
No. 5: No information on fluorinated wax control at Beijing 2022
The claim: FIS has admitted it is unsure "whether the Chinese authorities intend to carry out any controls regarding fluorinated waxes" at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, after several participating teams expressed their confusion.
Fact check: Committed to delivering a "green" Games, Beijing 2022 organizers fully support the decision made by the FIS to ban the substance.
In November 2019, the FIS Council decided that the use of fluorinated ski wax, which has been scientifically proven to have negative environmental and health impacts, will be banned in competition for all FIS disciplines from the 2020-21 season.
Research and development of a hand-held Fluorine Tracker system has been postponed due to the pandemic, as the system requires further testing and design adjustments to ensure absolutely fair and consistent results for all competitors. This leads to the FIS Council's approval of postponing the ban of fluorinated waxes until the start of the 2021-22 season, beginning on July 1, 2021.
BOCOG fully supports the FIS decision to prohibit the use of fluorinated wax, as it is made in terms of environmental protection and falls in line with China's vision of staging a "green" Games, a BOCOG spokesperson told Xinhua.
A photo taken on Oct. 27, 2021 shows China's first ski wax truck with independent intellectual property in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Chen Zhonghao)
