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Articles on Olympics

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The International Olympic Committee has a demonstrated history of controlling athletes’ public statements, despite claiming that athletes are free to express their opinions in press conferences, in media interviews and on social media. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Silence is golden? Olympic athletes’ freedom of speech muted by Games organizers

Can the Olympic industry survive the damage that calls for a Winter Olympics boycott are doing to its brand?
Skiers practice at the Olympic cross country venue in Zhangjiakou, China on February 1, 2022. Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images

Beijing Olympics may get points for boosting China’s international reputation, but Games are definitely gold for Xi Jinping’s standing at home

A strong turnout by Chinese teams during the 2022 Winter Olympics could help build national pride in China — and, in turn, help Xi Jinping’s bid for a third term this year.
Taiwanese independence activists call for a boycott of the Beijing Games. Walid Berrazeg/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Why is Taiwan competing in the Olympics under ‘Chinese Taipei’?

Taiwanese authorities are allowing its tiny contingent to attend the opening ceremony in Beijing despite a long-running dispute over its name in the Olympics.
When we think of sports, we often think of them at the elite level, like professional or Olympic athletes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

‘Wicked problems’: Government involvement in sport is fraught with issues

A strong sport system allows for coordinated policy implementation, evaluation and outcomes related to health, citizenship and community development that are accessible and realized for all Canadians.
A woman poses for a photo with a statue of the Winter Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen near the Olympic Green in Beijing on Jan. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Get caught up in the Olympic spirit, but keep your (political) eyes wide open

The Olympics, and all “mega sports,” are inevitably embedded in the political contexts of their times. To dismiss or bypass the political issues that arise seems naïve at best.
After President Joe Biden called for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics, other countries are following suit. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Boris Minkevich

Beijing Olympics: Canada, the U.K. and others join Biden’s diplomatic boycott, but it’s not enough

As long as athletes stand witness to the Olympic flame in Beijing and compete in the games, complacency will overshadow any message of condemnation.
The editor of a Communist Party newspaper posted a video online that he said showed missing tennis star Peng Shuai as the ruling party tried to quell fears abroad while suppressing information in China about Peng after she accused a senior leader of sexual assault. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

#WhereisPengShuai: Totalitarianism, violence against women and an overdue Olympic boycott?

The disappearance of Peng further underlines the need for an international boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The CCP’s assaults on democracy activists deserve more than willful blindness.
Children wave national flags and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games flags during a welcome ceremony for the Frame of Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 in October, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games could bring Huseyin Celil home

Olympians and Paralympians can uplift the voices of Celil’s family and supporters by calling for his release over the next four months. Academics, journalists and activists should join in solidarity.
Activists wearing masks of IOC President Thomas Bach and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose in front of the Olympic Rings during a street protest in India against the holding of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

A broadcast boycott is the last chance to mount serious resistance against the Beijing Olympic Games

Olympic broadcasters can help Canadians support the Uyghurs, Tibetans, pro-democracy advocates and others fighting for their human rights in China by cancelling their Olympic coverage.
Annika Schleu of Germany cries when Saint Boy, the horse she was assigned to ride, wouldn’t co-operate in the equestrian portion of the modern pentathlon at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Saint Boy’s rebellion spurs debate about ethical treatment of horses at the Olympics — and beyond

The treatment of the horse Saint Boy has ignited fierce discussion about horses in modern pentathlon, and reanimated ethical debates about horses’ jobs beyond the Olympics.

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