Interviews of Athletes at the Paralympics 2018

Currently, Peter Burgard is doing an internship in the FNF Korea office. Not only does he support our daily work but he also went to the Paralympics in Pyeongchang to interview German athletes about their experiences at the Paralympics and about their view on Freedom. Find his personal report and the video he created below!

I applied for my internship at the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation, because I was (and I am still) convinced, that personal freedom is a value of great importance for all of us. But I guess it is in the nature of freedom, that everyone has his own definition of it. So I thought about what others might think about it and who could have a particularly interesting view on freedom. As the Paralympic Winter Games were located in South Korea right during my internship, it came to my mind that I could ask Paralympic athletes, what they think about liberty and how they experience it. I was sure that sportsmen with a physical handicap have an especially interesting and unique view on freedom.

Therefore, I went to PyeongChang on Friday the 16th of March to see the Biathlon-Competition of the long distance discipline. Furthermore, I was allowed to go to the "Alpenhaus", the base of the German Paralympic Team. There I had the chance to talk to different members of the team and interview them about their view on freedom. Among others, I met Anja Wicker, winner of the Paralympic Games in Sotschi 2014, as well as Christian Bode, the pastor of the German Team.
Beside the classic questions like "How have you experienced this event?" or "Would you like to visit Korea again?" I mainly asked questions concerning the topic of freedom such as "What is freedom for you?" or "Do you see yourself as free?".

Hear about their answers and opinions and see the complete result in this video. It is not only interesting what these people tell about their views on and their experiences with freedom, but truly inspiring for everyone.