tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/2021-tokyo-olympics-97374/articles2021 Tokyo Olympics – The Conversation2024-02-21T14:25:06Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2221182024-02-21T14:25:06Z2024-02-21T14:25:06ZDoes hosting the Olympics, the World Cup or other major sports events really pay off?<p>After a long battle, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240213-paris-booksellers-stay-olympics-macron-bouquiniste-france">Paris’s beloved <em>bouquinistes</em> will be staying put</a> this summer. The decision, announced on 13 February by the French government, came after considerable public backlash to the police prefecture’s original plan to move part of the iconic Seine booksellers elsewhere for the inauguration of the Olympics Games on 26 July.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, less than six months away from the event, Parisians continue to grumble over a <a href="https://www.ouest-france.fr/jeux-olympiques/cest-aberrant-ce-maire-vient-dapprendre-que-sa-ville-accueillera-les-jeux-de-paris-ab1fa968-cfd1-11ee-89c0-6cefac77e04a">lack of consultations</a> with locals, warnings of <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20231130-paris-vehicle-traffic-to-be-heavily-restricted-during-2024-olympic-games">gridlocked traffic</a>, closed metro stations, extensive video surveillance and other grievances. So for host countries, what was the point of the Olympics, again?</p>
<p>In academia, the debate about the potential positive and negative effects of large-scale sporting events is ongoing. Although these events are often associated with substantial economic losses, the long-term benefits are the main argument in favour of hosting them. These include the development of material and soft infrastructure such as hotels, restaurants or parks. Big games can also help put the host region on the map as an attractive place for sports and cultural events, and inspire a better entrepreneurial climate.</p>
<h2>The pros and the cons of big sporting events?</h2>
<p>The cost of these benefits, as the Parisians have realised, is steep. Host countries appear to suffer from increased tax burdens, low returns on public investments, high construction costs, and onerous running cost of facilities after the event. Communities can also be blighted by noise, pollution, and damage to the environment, while increased criminal activity and potential conflicts between locals and visitors can take a toll on their quality of life. As a result, in the recent past several major cities, including Rome and Hamburg, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/6-cities-that-rejected-the-olympics/a-46289852">withdrew their bids to host the games</a>.</p>
<p>A common feature of the economics of large-scale sporting events is that our expectations of them are more optimistic than what we make of them once they have taken place. Typically, expenditure tends to tip over the original budget, while the revenue-side indicators (such as the number of visitors) are rarely achieved.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577077/original/file-20240221-20-y9ro1q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577077/original/file-20240221-20-y9ro1q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577077/original/file-20240221-20-y9ro1q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577077/original/file-20240221-20-y9ro1q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577077/original/file-20240221-20-y9ro1q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577077/original/file-20240221-20-y9ro1q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577077/original/file-20240221-20-y9ro1q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Host regions typically have to jump through many hoops before they can begin to enjoy the benefits from large-scale sporting events such as the Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Skitterians/Pixabay</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When analysing the effect of hosting large-scale sporting events on tourist visits, it is important to take into consideration both the positive and negative components of the overall effect. While positive effects may be associated with visitors, negative effects may arise when “regular” tourists refuse to visit the location due to the event. This might be because of overloaded infrastructure, sharp increases in accommodation costs, and inconveniences associated with overcrowding or raucous or/and violent visitors. On top of that, reports of poverty or crime in the global media can actually undermine the location’s attractiveness.</p>
<h2>When big sporting events crowd out regular tourists</h2>
<p>In an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1527002523120639">article published in the <em>Journal of Sports Economics</em></a> with Igor Drapkin and Ilya Zverev, I assess the effects of hosting large-scale sporting events, such as Winter and Summer Olympics plus FIFA World Cups, on international tourist visits. We utilise a comprehensive dataset on flow of tourists covering the world’s largest destination and origin countries between 1995 and 2019. As a first step, we built an econometric model that effectively predicts the flow of tourists between any pair of countries in our data. Subsequently we compared the predicted tourist inflow in a hypothetical scenario where no large-scale sporting event would have taken place with the actual figures. If the actual figures exceed the predicted ones, we consider the event to have a net positive impact. Otherwise, we consider that it had a “crowding out” effect on “regular” tourists. While conducting this analysis, we distinguished between short-term (i.e., focusing just on the year of the event) and mid-term (year of the event plus three subsequent years).</p>
<p>Our results show that the effects of large-scale sporting events vary a lot across host countries: The World Cup in Japan and South Korea 2002 and South Africa 2010 were associated with a distinct increase in tourist arrivals, whereas all other World Cups were either neutral or negative. Among the Summer Olympics, China in 2008 is the only case with a significant positive effect on tourist inflows. The effects of the other four events (Australia 2000, Greece 2004, Great Britain 2012, and Brazil 2016) were found to be negative in the short- and medium-term. As for the Winter Olympics, the only positive case is Russia in 2014. The remaining five events had a negative impact except the one-year neutral effect for Japan 1998.</p>
<p>Following large-scale sporting events, host countries are therefore typically less visited by tourists. Out of the 18 hosting countries studied, 11 saw tourist numbers decline over four years, and three did not experience a significant change.</p>
<h2>The case for cautious optimism</h2>
<p>Our research indicates that the positive effect of hosting large-scale sporting events on tourist inflows is, at best, moderate. While many tourists are attracted by FIFA World Cups and Olympic games, the crowding-out effect of “regular” tourists is strong and often underestimated. This implies that tourists visiting for an event like the Olympics typically dissuade those who would have come for other reasons. Thus, efforts to attract new visitors should be accompanied by efforts to retain the already existing ones.</p>
<p>Large-scale sporting events should be considered as part of a long-term policy for promoting a territory to tourists rather than a standalone solution. Revealingly, our results indicate that it is easier to get a net increase in tourist inflows in countries that are less frequent destinations for tourists – for example, those in Asia or Africa. By contrast, the United States and Europe, both of which are traditionally popular with tourists, have no single case of a net positive effect. Put differently, the large-scale sporting events in Asia and Africa helped promote their host countries as tourist destinations, making the case for the initial investment. In the US and Europe, however, those in the last few decades brought little return, at least in terms of tourist inflow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222118/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span> This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant number 19-18-00262).</span></em></p>Do big sporting events such as the Olympics help boost tourist numbers in the long run? It all depends on where they take place, according to research.Ivan Savin, Associate professor of quantitative analytics, research fellow at ICTA-UAB, ESCP Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1679082021-09-15T14:03:14Z2021-09-15T14:03:14ZPasha 125: Nigeria can regain its lost athletics glory. Here’s how<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421047/original/file-20210914-17-1jwdu1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">GettyImages</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Nigeria used to be a great force in global athletics but that has changed. The country’s fortunes have plummeted in track and field events. The downward trend continued in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, where Nigeria <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/478171-nigeria-finishes-74th-at-tokyo-olympics-8th-best-from-africa.html">won</a> only two medals: bronze in long jump and silver in wrestling. </p>
<p>Oladele Oladipo, a professor of sports and exercise physiology at the University of Ibadan, offers insight into what has gone wrong and what Nigeria should do to regain its former competitive position. He also suggests athletics competitions in schools should be revived across the country. </p>
<p><strong>Photo:</strong><br>
“Nigeria’s Ifeanyi Emmanuel Ojelli (rear) and Imaobong Nse Uko compete in the mixed 4x400m relay heats during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on 30 July 2021. Photo by
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP found on <a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nigerias-emmanuel-ifeanyi-ojelli-and-nse-imaobong-uko-news-photo/1234318377?adppopup=true">Getty Images</a> <a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/Corporate/LicenseAgreements.aspx#RM">Rights-managed</a> </p>
<p><strong>Music:</strong>
"Happy African Village” by John Bartmann, found on <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/John_Bartmann/Public_Domain_Soundtrack_Music_Album_One/happy-african-village">FreeMusicArchive.org</a> licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 1</a>.</p>
<p>“African Moon” by John Bartmann, found on <a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/music/John_Bartmann/Public_Domain_Soundtrack_Music_Album_One/african-moon">FreeMusicArchive.org</a> licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 1.0 Universal License.</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167908/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Greater focus on grassroots sports to identify and nurture talent is a sure path to regaining Nigeria's lost glory in athletics.Wale Fatade, Commissioning Editor: NigeriaUsifo Omozokpea, Audience Development ManagerLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1664722021-08-24T17:04:27Z2021-08-24T17:04:27ZSaint Boy’s rebellion spurs debate about ethical treatment of horses at the Olympics — and beyond<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417443/original/file-20210823-19-kyyhre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C25%2C8575%2C5716&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">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.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the glitter and dust of the Tokyo Olympic games settle, one controversy doesn’t just have legs, it has four legs. This is largely due to an ugly scene in the modern pentathlon, an intense event in which human athletes fence, swim, shoot, run and ride a horse all in the same day. </p>
<p>During the pentathlon, a horse named Saint Boy — ridden by German athlete Annika Schleu — refused to jump multiple obstacles. This <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/olympian-hits-back-over-allegations-of-horse-cruelty-in-tokyo/news-story/1dacc4351ca78a64b9e943b2d71ef6da">resulted in Schleu having a very public meltdown</a>, and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/07/sport/modern-pentathlon-germany-disqualification-tokyo-2020-spt-intl/index.html">German coach Kim Raisner being disqualified after she was caught on camera punching the horse</a>. The incident generated so much international attention that actress and horsewoman <a href="https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a37338694/kaley-cuoco-horse-instagram-update/">Kaley Cuoco offered to buy Saint Boy</a>.</p>
<p>Saint Boy, who normally lives and works at the Minakuchi Riding Club in Japan, certainly made his views crystal clear on that day in Tokyo. He did not want to participate, no interpretation or detailed horse knowledge needed. Was he an athlete feeling stress and discomfort? A worker withdrawing his labour? A sentient being saying no? As a researcher of animal protection and labour, I’d say all three.</p>
<h2>Competitive events</h2>
<p>In modern pentathlon events, the humans and horses only meet each other <a href="https://horsesport.com/horse-news/canadians-respond-pentathlon-jumping-olympics/">right before the class starts</a>. The horses are borrowed for the event, normally from a local farm. The horse-rider pairs have a short warm up, and then the competition begins. This is highly unusual.</p>
<p>In the trio of primary equestrian sports at the Olympics — <a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/sports/equestrian/">dressage, eventing and show jumping</a> — the horse and human pairs normally train together for many months, more often years. While horses intended for jumping learn to understand a consistent set of commands and aids, the animals are all different. They have <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Equine-Cultures-in-Transition-Ethical-Questions/Bornemark-Andersson-Essen/p/book/9780367582005">personalities and preferences</a>. Horses are not machines. You cannot simply hop onto one and expect to perform challenging tasks in tandem instantaneously.</p>
<h2>Horses are unique individuals</h2>
<p>Horses’ moods, comfort levels and physical well-being <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051347">change over time, and in immediate response to a host of factors</a>, including the rider, their particular style and their level of anxiety — <a href="https://inside.fei.org/media-updates/keeping-cool-tokyo-%E2%80%93-heat-and-humidity-measures-under-microscope">even the weather</a>.</p>
<p>In an Instagram post, Malin Baryard-Johnsson, a member of the gold medal-winning Swedish show jumping team, wrote about her equine partner Indiana. Baryard-Johnsson says that it took “a couple of years of learning to understand each other” and speaks about Indiana as an individual and as a whole being who is “friendly, funny, crazy, positive, sensitive, energetic …”</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CSUdp0-FykT","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Horses are not a uniform group, and neither are horse people. Far from it. There are many subcultures and industries engaging with horses in starkly different ways. Racing has little in common with equine-assisted therapy and pleasure riding, for example. </p>
<p>Plus within each equine culture there are distinct philosophies, methods and ethical priorities, all of which affect the horses’ experiences. From their stabling conditions, including their ability to see and touch other horses, to their feed to their time outdoors (or not) to the length of horses’ careers and what happens to them afterwards — all of these factors affect the animals’ work-lives in a full sense, and differ substantially.</p>
<h2>Crucial debates</h2>
<p>There were other equestrian concerns stemming from the Olympics, including about the <a href="https://www.worldofshowjumping.com/en/Exclusives/WoSJ-Focus/Rodrigo-Pessoa-on-the-Olympic-format-I-hope-the-FEI-will-listen-this-time.html">new structure</a> of the team show jumping and its implications for horse welfare. </p>
<p>A horse named Jet Set was <a href="https://eventingnation.com/robin-godels-jet-set-euthanized-after-injury-on-tokyo-cross-country/">euthanized after an injury in the eventing competition in Tokyo</a>. When you involve other species, the risks and very real effects of our choices are heightened.</p>
<p>Horses hold complex positions in our laws, lives and hearts. Whether it is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10091513">Thoroughbred racing</a> or <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/new-york-city-carriage-horse-industry-controversy">horse-drawn carriages</a> in tourist centres, when it comes to horse controversies, people tend to split into three camps. </p>
<p>There is always a group that believes the status quo is acceptable and that the horses are fine. These people might support some minor tinkering with equipment or welfare regulations, but insist that the <a href="https://cona.org/the-truth-about-carriage-horses-myths-and-facts/">horses are well cared for overall</a>.</p>
<p>The second and largest group is generally comfortable with horses doing some work and sport with humans as long as it is respectful but will still have concerns about specific practices and horses’ well-being before, during or after the job in question. This group may want to see <a href="https://horseandstylemag.com/2014/09/18/where-do-you-stand-on-the-great-carriage-debate/">modest or even major reforms</a>, and some activities eliminated altogether because they are deemed too unethical or risky for the horses.</p>
<p>The third group argues that people’s use of <a href="https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/horse-drawn-carriages/">horses’ labour</a> is unethical, period, and that horses <a href="https://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/how-does-peta-feel-about-horseback-riding/">should be freed from human tasks</a> as a matter of principle.</p>
<p>These debates are not tidy and are unlikely to be resolved soon. But robust, well-informed reflection is critically important. One thing is clear — people love horses. Yet we disagree about what it really means to love horses.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1424369653854343173"}"></div></p>
<h2>Listening to horses</h2>
<p>The International Modern Pentathlon Union — the organizing body that oversees the sport — is <a href="https://www.uipmworld.org/news/uipm-forms-riding-working-group-and-appoints-disciplinary-panel">reviewing the riding portion of its event for horse welfare and safety</a>. A <a href="https://horsesport.com/horse-news/canadians-respond-pentathlon-jumping-olympics/">growing number of people want it reformed</a> or <a href="https://horsesport.com/horse-news/modern-pentathlon-under-fire-after-ugly-scenes-riding-phase/">removed</a> out of respect for horses. </p>
<p>We ask horses to do an extraordinary number of jobs for and with us. Our decisions have significant effects on their bodies, minds and relationships. Horses always have a lot to say about those jobs and about their lives in a full sense. Sometimes their views are obvious, as was the case with Saint Boy on that day in Tokyo, but often their voices are softer. In all cases, we have an ethical duty to not only pay attention but to really listen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166472/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kendra Coulter receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is a fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and serves on the Canadian Violence Link Coalition's Coordinating Committee and on the Government of Ontario's Provincial Animal Welfare Services Advisory Table.</span></em></p>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.Kendra Coulter, Chancellor's Chair for Research Excellence and Associate Professor in the Department of Labour Studies, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1658472021-08-11T14:58:00Z2021-08-11T14:58:00ZBlack women athletes ruptured destructive and limiting beliefs at the Tokyo Olympics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415500/original/file-20210810-23-p7m73b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C10%2C6894%2C4599&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Japan's Naomi Osaka lights the cauldron during the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approached, fans around the world struggled to balance their excitement with a general uneasiness surrounding the Games. These included <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/olympics-opening-ceremony-creative-director-fired-holocaust-joke-1200587/">high-profile firings</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/03/world/asia/japan-tokyo-olympics-volunteers-covid.html">volunteers quitting</a>, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/21/olympics-face-heat-from-broiling-tokyo-summer">abnormally high temperatures</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/tokyo-olympic-village-unvaccinated-1.6109907">low vaccination rates</a> as well as a declared <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/08/asia/japan-state-of-emergency-olympics-intl-hnk/index.html">state of emergency</a> amidst surging COVID-19 cases.</p>
<p>While there were many engaging story lines and developments worth following over the last 14 days, the prominence of Black women was hard to ignore. </p>
<p>From the outset of the Games’ opening ceremony, where Naomi Osaka <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/23/naomi-osaka-olympic-cauldron-opening-ceremonies/">lit the Olympic cauldron</a>, it quickly became evident that Black women would be of central importance to the games and stories that followed. </p>
<h2>Black women’s participation in sport</h2>
<p>Coming off a tumultuous exit from the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2021/06/17/naomi-osaka-withdraws-wimbledon-play-tokyo-olympics/7592502002/">French Open and Wimbledon</a>, Osaka gleefully stated that lighting the cauldron was her <a href="https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1418602684580438019">biggest athletic achievement</a> to date. </p>
<p>Osaka, of Haitian and Japanese descent, was <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/naomi-osaka-olympic-cauldron_n_60fadcc9e4b00c1de0a12350">the first tennis player to ever light the Olympic cauldron</a>. Despite her <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/sport/20210727-japan-s-naomi-osaka-knocked-out-of-olympics-tennis-in-third-round">early exit in the Olympic tennis</a> tournament, she had already won. </p>
<p>Too often, Black women’s participation in sport is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/06/us/black-women-athletes-treatment-olympics-spt/index.html">questioned</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/namibian-teens-stoke-new-olympic-testosterone-controversy-1.6126829">negated</a> or <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/tennis/canadian-tennis-player-francoise-abanda-blames-racism-for-low-profile-1.4666176">simply</a> <a href="https://www.powerplays.news/p/racisms-central-role-in-wnba-coverage">unnoticed</a>.</p>
<p>Common depictions of Black women athletes are often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443720960919">racist and misogynist</a>. Praise for Black women atheletes is often accompanied with what feminist scholar Moya Bailey <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479865109/misogynoir-transformed/">refers to as <em>misogynoir</em>, the ways anti-Black and misogynistic representation shape broader ideas about Black women</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman stands wearing silver medal making an X above her forehead" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Raven Saunders of the United States poses with her silver medal she earned in women’s shot put making an X with her arms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sacrificing mental health</h2>
<p>Gymnastics typically account for the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2016/08/04/gymnastics-track-and-swimming-will-win-ratings-gold-in-rio/?sh=22fe02925f11">highest TV ratings</a> for women’s sport at the Olympics. The competition was marketed around African American <a href="https://usagym.org/pages/athletes/athleteListDetail.html?id=164887">Simone Biles</a>, the global superstar who is a 32-time Olympic and world medallist.</p>
<p>Biles shocked the world this year by pulling out of the all-around team gymnastics competition. A slew of <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/piers-morgan-goes-simone-biles-131431421.html">demeaning “takes”</a> then flooded both <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmmjltfWfe0">news and social media</a>.</p>
<hr>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/simone-biles-and-naomi-osaka-put-the-focus-on-the-importance-of-mental-performance-for-olympic-athletes-165219">Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka put the focus on the importance of mental performance for Olympic athletes</a>
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<p>According to sociologist Delia D. Douglas, Black athletes — especially Black women — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934711410880">must show graciousness, gratefulness, obedience, adhere to respectability politics and live up impossible standards</a>, including sacrificing their mental health. </p>
<p>Black women often challenge these narratives and in doing so are (not so) quiet champions for a variety of <a href="https://www.tsn.ca/female-athletes-take-a-central-role-in-u-s-election-through-political-activism-1.1546900">social justice issues both in and outside of sport</a>. As the Black feminist <a href="https://americanstudies.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Keyword%20Coalition_Readings.pdf">Combahee River Collective</a> reminds us, “the only people who care enough about Black women to work consistently for our liberation are Black women.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Simone Biles smiles excitedly wearing a unitard" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Simone Biles smiles as Tang Xijing of China embraces teammate Guan Chenchen after she won the gold medal on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women’s apparatus final at the Tokyo Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Following her withdrawal from the team competition, Biles then dropped out of additional events, leaving the beam her only remaining competition. The world <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/simone-biles-team-usa-womens-gymnastics-silver-medal-tokyo-olympics">debated</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/07/simone-biles-doesnt-need-to-look-invincible/619606/">scorned</a> and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-07-27/simone-biles-celebrity-reactions-support">applauded her efforts</a> yet once again, a Black woman cleaved open the conversation about the mental health of athletes. </p>
<h2>Black women at the Olympics</h2>
<p>As the competition carried on, athletes, celebrities and politicians <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-07-27/simone-biles-celebrity-reactions-support">came out in support</a> of Biles and her decision. This compassion started to shift the seemingly impenetrable narrative that a gold medal is the only success worth celebrating at an Olympic competition. </p>
<p>Biles’s journey at the Olympics was framed as an act of rebellion against sporting federations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which was recently held accountable for the mistreatment of athletes. Athletes are no longer remaining silent about overly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/06/30/nursing-moms-babies-tokyo-olympics/">restrictive rules</a> including those that limit sociopolitical expression.</p>
<p>African American athlete Raven Saunders deserves credit and celebration over her silver medal in shot put. Rule 50, which states that “<a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/olympics-rule-50-protest">every kind of demonstration or propaganda, whether political, religious, or racial, in the Olympic areas, is forbidden</a>”, was visibly contested by Saunders when she raised her two arms in the air to form an X on the podium. She stated that her medal represented where the “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/raven-saunders-podium-gesture-tokyo-olympics-1.6126142">oppressed meet</a>.” </p>
<p>Saunders went on to say that the IOC will “<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8079122/raven-saunders-gesture-olympics/">never take her silver away</a>.” Hammer throw teammate Gwen Berry <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/03/sport/gwen-berry-fist-social-justice-tokyo-spt-intl/index.html">raised a fist in protest</a> of the investigation the IOC opened after Saunders’ noncompliance, which was since put on hold <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2021/08/03/raven-saunders-shot-put-silver-tokyo-olympics-mother-dies/5475666001/">after the death of her mother</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-power-of-no-simone-biles-naomi-osaka-and-black-womens-resistance-165318">The power of no: Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and Black women's resistance</a>
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<p>In addition to increasing empathy for Black women and their intersectional plights, there was also a recognition of the athletic feats of Black women especially in sports historically dominated by white women.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.si.com/olympics/2021/08/04/tamyra-mensah-stock-becomes-first-united-states-black-woman-win-gold-wrestling">U.S. wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock</a> became the first Black woman to win gold in freestyle wrestling. Dutch runner Sifan Hassan <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-track-and-field-sifan-hassan-sports-europe-7251c910cfad05dfacd504c9f810ca52">defied all odds</a> by winning her 1,500-metre heat, despite falling at the beginning of the final lap. Hassan went on to win gold in the 5,000 metres, bronze in the 1,500 metres and gold in the 10,000 metres.</p>
<p>In athletics’ most popular event, Jamaicans <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/athletics-thompson-herah-leads-jamaican-sweep-womens-100m-2021-07-31/">Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson</a> placed first, second and third respectively in the 100-metre sprint. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman wearing unitard runs holding baton" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Allyson Felix of the United States runs in the women’s 4 x 400-meter relay at the Tokyo Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Sprinter Allyson Felix, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/opinion/allyson-felix-pregnancy-nike.html">champion of Black maternal health</a>, now dons the title of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/07/allyson-felix-usa-olympic-record-track-most-medals-carl-lewis">most decorated track and field athlete</a> in history. Her bronze medal performance in the 400-metre event signalled a win for motherhood, donning <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-06/track-star-allyson-felix-wins-olympic-medal-in-her-own-shoe-line">her newly designed shoe</a>, after her sponsorship <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/opinion/allyson-felix-pregnancy-nike.html">was slashed by Nike after becoming pregnant</a>.</p>
<p>Namibian runners were <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/opinion-case-of-namibian-runners-further-exposes-half-baked-testosterone-regulation-1.6092033">wrongly denied</a> entry into the Olympic 400-metre competition by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) due to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2012.725488">sexist, antiquated rules that regulate only women’s testosterone levels</a> — they were subsequently allowed to compete in the 200 metres. Christine Mboama captured silver, while Beatrice Masillingi finished fifth. </p>
<p>The IOC and IAAF might have unfairly felt a bit of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/04/sebastian-coe-claims-chrstine-mboma-tokyo-olympics-200m-silver-medal-shows-testosterone-rules-are-working">vindication</a> from this result, and the fight against sex and gender testing that overwhelmingly discriminates against Black and racialized women is consistently <a href="https://vimeo.com/386468558/a9c5f66487">being challenged and led by Black women</a>.</p>
<h2>Beyond the finish line</h2>
<p>Black women were once again trailblazers in Tokyo, shouldering the burden of contesting archaic and unfair rules and lack of accommodations. The Games may be over, but the legacy of the Black women athletes will be the rupture of destructive and limiting beliefs. </p>
<p>This legacy has the potential to permeate long after the medal ceremonies and homecoming celebrations. Compounded with COVID-19, athlete health is beginning to take precedence over any hardware or harmful narratives about pushing through injury, racial trauma or mental health issues. </p>
<p>We must thank the athletes, and particularly Black women, who continue to take risks, sacrifice and endure the pain and emotional turmoil of being game changers in racist and misogynist sport systems. Flourishing, experiencing joy and being supported remain conditional for Black women athletes — these athletes managed to shine brighter than gold, triumphing on their own terms.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165847/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Braeden McKenzie receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and Sport Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span><a href="mailto:janelle.joseph@utoronto.ca">janelle.joseph@utoronto.ca</a> receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Sport Canada, and University of Toronto through the Connaught New Researcher Award and School of Cities Anti-Black Racism/Black Lives Fund. She is affiliated with the Black Canadian Coaches Association as the Director of Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sabrina Razack does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Black women played a central role in the 2021 Olympic Games. And that role was more than just resistance and resilience.Sabrina Razack, Sessional Instructor, Kinesiology & Physical Education, University of TorontoBraeden McKenzie, PhD Candidate; Reseach Assistant @ the IDEAS lab, University of TorontoJanelle Joseph, Assistant Professor, Critical Studies of Race & Indigeneity, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1655802021-08-08T14:33:11Z2021-08-08T14:33:11ZFewer viewers, nervous sponsors: The Olympics must rethink efforts to stay relevant<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415108/original/file-20210808-27-oitz0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C5%2C3969%2C2634&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Olympic flag is lowered during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics – the first Games to be held without spectators because of concerns of spreading COVID-19. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> (AP Photo/David Goldman) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the conclusion of every Olympics, there are reflections on the importance and relevance of the Games. There are always a wide range of opinions, from those who praise the movement as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-the-olympics-still-matter-90215">global humanitarian platform</a> to others who criticize the Games due to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/17/sports/olympics/tokyo-olympics.html">sustainability, environmental and human rights concerns</a>.</p>
<p>International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach called the Tokyo Games the “most challenging Olympic journey” <a href="https://www.westport-news.com/news/article/Mixed-bag-Erratic-Pandemic-Olympics-winds-to-a-16372498.php">during his speech at the closing ceremonies</a>. The Games were postponed a year, held during a pandemic emergency that barred fans from the stands and had reluctant support from the host country. And there are other challenges ahead for the Olympic movement. </p>
<p>Given all of the problems facing the Olympic movement, what is the relevance of the modern Olympic Games from a consumer, marketing, media and economic perspective?</p>
<h2>Eyeballs matter</h2>
<p>Olympic viewership dropped significantly this year, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/why-tv-audiences-are-tuning-out-tokyo-olympic-games-2021-07-30/">with some estimates</a> noting close to a 50-per-cent decline from the 2016 Rio Games — including for the lead television partner NBC Universal, which paid over US$7 billion to extend its U.S. broadcast rights for the Olympics through 2032.</p>
<p>Despite parallel streaming arrangements with all major Olympic network partners, viewers in North America and Europe were considerably fragmented, if not frustrated, with being many time zones away while major events were taking place live. The Canadian rights holder to the Games, the CBC, said it <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/cbc-tokyo-olympics-ratings-1.6135953#">had a record number of views via its digital platforms</a> after initial reports of a <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2021/08/03/with-empty-stands-and-viewership-way-down-olympics-still-gold-for-advertisers-and-broadcasters.html">decline in ratings on traditional broadcast channels</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A beach volleyball game taking place in an empty stadium" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A women’s beach volleyball match in the empty Shiokaze Park at the Tokyo Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More troubling for the International Olympic Committee is growing evidence of a general decline in interest in the Olympics from young people, <a href="https://www.ypulse.com/article/2021/06/10/this-is-how-many-gen-z-millennials-say-theyll-watch-the-olympics-this-summer/">including Generation Z</a>.</p>
<p>Support from key sponsors is also declining. Toyota announced on the eve of the Games that <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-2020-tokyo-olympics-business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-5eb0e254b9a0cac7ad57005677eebe66">it wouldn’t air any Olympic-themed TV ads in Japan</a>, even though it signed a US$1 billion sponsorship in 2015. Other sponsors are <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/tokyo-olympics-live-updates/2021/07/20/1018390493/toyota-and-other-big-olympics-sponsors-are-downplaying-their-ties-to-the-games">minimizing their Olympic commitments</a>, raising questions about the perceived value of the hefty partnership deals.</p>
<h2>Olympic economics</h2>
<p>The Olympic Games are a massive social and financial undertaking. It’s estimated the Tokyo Games will <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-tokyo-olympics-staggering-price-tag-and-where-it-stands-in-history-11627049612#:%7E:text=The%20average%20cost%20per%20event,million%3B%20%2439.2%20million%20for%20Winter">cost over US$20 billion</a>.</p>
<p>While cities once competed fiercely for the right to host the Olympics, the steep costs, coupled with waning public sentiment, has resulted in less countries willing to take on the multi-billion-dollar commitment. Case in point: when Brisbane, Australia, was recently <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-sports-brisbane-australia-olympic-team-germany-olympic-team-cbaf0d0e504b8bb3861f35c2876b7bbb">announced as the host of the 2032 Olympics</a>, there were no other rival bids.</p>
<p>The economics and expenses of the Olympic Games has been generally well supported by a highly structured means of revenue, which is led by significant broadcast contracts, followed by the <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/faq/roles-and-responsibilities-of-the-ioc-and-its-partners/how-are-the-olympic-games-financed">The Olympic Partners (TOP) program</a> that was established following the highly successful 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. A small group of international partners in the TOP program each pay <a href="https://adage.com/article/special-report-olympics/faq-everything-you-need-know-advertising-marketing-sponsorship-athlete-pay-nbc-olympics-2020-2021/2351056">approximately US$200 million per four-year cycle</a> to be an Olympic partner, including multinational companies like Coca-Cola, Dow and General Electric.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Women holding up sign that says Brisbane 2032" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian politician Annastacia Palaszczuk celebrates after Brisbane was announced as the 2032 Summer Olympics host city during the IOC Session at Hotel Okura in Tokyo on July 21.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Toru Hanai/Pool Photo via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The core profits from both the media and marketing partnerships are ultimately dependent on the interest and consumption of the Olympics.</p>
<p>Corporate and media investments are based on the premise that consumers around the globe are tuned in to the Games (and are watching key corporate partner messages), that major corporate partners want to be affiliated with the Olympics and all they represent, and that hundreds of thousands of tickets will be sold to people who want to attend the competitions.</p>
<p>Given the recent free-fall of interest and <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2021/07/2021-olympics-controversy-makes-the-games-hard-to-watch.html">global awareness of the Olympics</a>, this traditional Games revenue model will be significantly challenged moving forward.</p>
<p>It was <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-30/olympics-ratings-slump-forces-nbc-to-haggle-with-advertisers">recently reported</a> that Olympic advertisers are renegotiating with NBC given the less-than-promised viewing numbers. The U.S. broadcaster had expected to generate <a href="https://adage.com/article/special-report-olympics/faq-everything-you-need-know-advertising-marketing-sponsorship-athlete-pay-nbc-olympics-2020-2021/2351056">more than US$1 billion in ad sales</a> during these Games. Likewise, sponsors have sought make-good provisions from broadcasters and Games stakeholders to safeguard their expenditures.</p>
<h2>What now for the Olympics’ economic model?</h2>
<p>Given changing consumer, corporate and geopolitical sentiments, the current model of the Olympic Games is outdated. As Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Branch <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/17/sports/olympics/tokyo-olympics.html">recently wrote in the <em>New York Times</em></a>: “In some ways — too many ways, critics argue — the Olympics are stuck in time, a 19th-century construct floating through a 21st-century world.” </p>
<p>The Olympic movement, which has been called “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/05/business/media/nbc-olympics-tv-ratings.html#:%7E:text=The%20Olympics%20coverage%20is%20headed,in%20an%20interview%20on%20Thursday">the most complicated sports event in the world</a>,” will have to dramatically rethink its current strategy and economic model to stay relevant to its partners and fans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165580/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Olympics will have to be adaptable in order to keep up with the rapidly shifting economic landscape and changing interest in the Games if it wants to continue to turn massive profits.Cheri L. Bradish, Professor of Sport Business, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityNicholas Burton, Assistant Professor, Sport Management, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1654512021-08-05T16:11:46Z2021-08-05T16:11:46ZBoycotting the next Olympics in Beijing will hurt athletes: Here’s a better idea<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414441/original/file-20210803-15-1vse00i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5000%2C3330&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Attendees wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus look at an exhibit at a visitors center at the Winter Olympic venues in Beijing in February. Human rights groups have called for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics due to reported human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in China.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the Tokyo Olympics coming to an end, human rights activists are expected to step up their campaign against the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in protest against the genocide of <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/09/09/interview-chinas-crackdown-turkic-muslims">the Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking people</a> in Xinjiang, the colonization of Tibet and the suppression of democracy in Hong Kong. They will call upon the International Olympic Committee to cancel or move the Games that start in just six months, and if that fails, they’ll urge athletes to boycott. </p>
<p>As frightening as those human rights abuses are, they’re not likely to persuade the IOC or athletes to change their plans for Beijing. Cancelling, moving or boycotting the Beijing Olympics runs counter to the very purpose and history of the Olympic movement and places athletes in an untenable position.</p>
<h2>Choosing a different strategy</h2>
<p>Given the almost constant tensions in world politics and international sports, boycotts and threats of boycotts have almost been an accepted feature of the modern Olympics. The first occurred at the inaugural Games in Athens in 1896, when German gymnasts known as “turners” refused to participate because most of the events were British sport.</p>
<p>There have been feminist boycotts (<a href="https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Women_and_Sports_in_the_United_States/utWx5SNoxXAC?hl=en&gbpv=1">British women stayed away from Amsterdam</a> in 1928 when the IOC reneged on its promise to add 10 women’s events to the athletics program), podium protests against racism (<a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/08/07/the-forgotten-story-behind-the-black-power-photo-from-1968-olympics.html">Tommie Smith, John Carlos</a> and other U.S. athletes in 1968), so-called recognition boycotts (<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/taiwan-controversy-at-the-1976-montreal-olympics">Taiwan left in 1976</a> when the IOC refused to call it the “Republic of China”), anti-apartheid boycotts (29 African and Caribbean teams <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/the-olympics-used-to-be-so-politicized-that-most-of-africa-boycotted-in-1976/260831/">walked out of the Montreal Olympics in 1976</a> to protest a New Zealand rugby tour of apartheid South Africa) and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-virus-outbreak-afghanistan-boycotts-cold-war-8b447c53e96621f1ca2b06e8621b351f">Cold War boycotts</a> in 1956, 1980, 1984 and 1988.</p>
<p>In 1936, an international coalition of socialists, labour unions and churches not only mounted a highly visible boycott campaign against the staging of the Games in Nazi Germany, but tried to hold a <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/protest-olympics-never-came-be-180978179/">counter-Olympics in Barcelona</a>. It was only cancelled when the Spanish general Francisco Franco led an armed attack upon the city on the morning of the opening ceremonies, starting what became the bitter, three-year Spanish Civil War.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Crowd of men and women in matching striped jackets standing in airport gate." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of the Nigerian Olympic team prepare for their journey home at Montréal’s Mirabel Airport after it was announced they would boycott the 1976 Olympic Games. The boycott came after the IOC refused to expel New Zealand from competition after its rugby team did a tour of apartheid South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the Olympic movement is not indifferent to human rights, it seeks to bring representatives of every community in the world together for peaceful dialogue and sports — recognizing that there are very real political and ideological differences among nations.</p>
<p>To build such a big, inclusive tent, it makes few demands upon National Olympic Committees, the international federations that govern the sports or the host countries. It’s the sporting equivalent of the long-held principle of “non-intervention” in the internal affairs of nation states.</p>
<p>As the world has begun to contemplate the obligation of the international community to safeguard citizens from an abusive national state, activists are calling on the IOC to apply and enforce human rights upon National Olympic Committees, federations and host countries. That battle is far from won.</p>
<p>The IOC has been able to withstand boycotts because it selects its own members, a grossly undemocratic process that ironically has enabled it to stand up to the strongest governments. In 1980, in the face of intense pressure from U.S. President Jimmy Carter to cancel or move the Moscow Olympics, the IOC voted unanimously to go ahead. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Statue of a man in front of a sports stadium bearing the Olympic rings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A statue of Lenin sits outside of Lenin Stadium, the main stadium for the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow. The United States and 65 other countries, including Canada, boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest of Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While most athletes are concerned with human rights, an earlier generation learned in 1980 that governments, corporations and human rights activists are quick to volunteer them for symbolic actions, only to find that they’re the only ones who actually sacrificed something important.</p>
<p>In 1980, the government of Pierre Trudeau forced Canadian athletes to stay home, despite their strong objection, and then cut their funds afterwards. The oral history of that bitter experience looms large in the informal discussions about the proposed Beijing boycott currently taking place among Canadian athletes.</p>
<h2>A way forward without boycotting</h2>
<p>Is there a way for the Olympic community to attend the Games without legitimizing atrocities in China? As an Olympian and an academic who has studied the Olympic movement for decades, I believe there is.</p>
<p>Instead of the IOC knuckling under host country repression, as it did in Beijing in 2008 and Sochi in 2014, it should ensure that the freedom of expression now guaranteed in the revised <a href="https://olympics.com/athlete365/what-we-do/voice/athlete-expression-rule-50/">Rule 50</a> should be respected during the 2022 Winter Olympics. Activists should insist that no one will be penalized under the revised rule.</p>
<p>Secondly, the IOC should affirm the importance of human rights and full intercultural exchange in the opening ceremonies and the schedule of events and meetings in the Olympic Village, <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/pierre-de-coubertin/sport-as-a-human-right">as modern Olympic founder Pierre de Coubertin</a> always intended. That would give athletes and others concerned about human rights the opportunity to express their views freely with other Olympic participants and their hosts without constraint.</p>
<p>There is Olympic precedent that needs to be remembered and strengthened. In 1936, when he arrived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany for the Winter Olympics, IOC president Henri Baillet-Latour found the city plastered with anti-Semitic, Nazi propaganda. He immediately met with Adolf Hitler and demanded that the posters and flags be taken down.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man lighting Olympic torch in foreground with lines of Nazi soliders lined up behind him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">German Nazi soldiers line up at attention during the lighting of the Olympic torch at the opening ceremonies of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hitler is said to have replied: “When one visits a home, one doesn’t immediately ask the host to redecorate.” Baillet-Latour rejoined: “Yes, Mr. Chancellor, but when the Olympics is held, it’s not a national city but an Olympic city, and should be held according to Olympic rules. The propaganda must come down.” It did.</p>
<p>Baillet-Latour also established the requirement that the host country must recognize every participant duly entered by a National Olympic Committee, regardless of their background, a stipulation that ensured full participation in Berlin and during the Cold War.</p>
<p>In the end, the 1936 Games were a tremendous propaganda victory for Hitler, and the world lost sight of the safeguards won by the IOC. But an updated version of that strategy would be useful today.</p>
<p>The IOC should make it clear that while it’s grateful to China for hosting the Winter Olympics, the Olympic movement guarantees the right to free speech — including the condemnation of genocide and other abuses — within the Olympic precincts. Activists should support it.</p>
<p>It would be an important step on the long road to human rights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165451/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Kidd is an honorary member of the Canadian Olympic Committee. </span></em></p>Instead of boycotting the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, activists should pressure the IOC to let anyone attending the Games to express their views on China without fear of penalization.Bruce Kidd, Professor Emeritus of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1649842021-08-04T12:09:38Z2021-08-04T12:09:38ZWhy designing an Olympic logo is so difficult<p>In 1913 <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/pierre-de-coubertin">Baron Pierre de Coubertin</a>, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, created one of the most recognisable logos in the world. The symbolism of the five coloured interlocking rings, representing the participating continents and the “flags of all nations” united in sporting endeavour, is simply conveyed and easily grasped. </p>
<p>A good logo communicates its message in an effective visual way and de Coubertin’s certainly achieves that. It has become the basis upon which logos for the Games are built. </p>
<p>With the next Games in Paris in 2024, it’s worth looking at the <a href="https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/paris-1924/logo-design">first city to design its own Olympic logo </a>. The 1924 Paris Games was represented by a simple line-drawn ship on a shield background with the words on top hard to read. Legendary American graphic designer Milton Glaser, famous for his iconic “I heart NY” logo, described it as a “<a href="https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/milton-glaser-analyzes-olympic-logo-design-through-the-ages">bad beginning</a>”. </p>
<p>But Paris is not the only city to struggle when trying to create a memorable logo. The history of Olympic logos shows it’s not easy to strike the tricky balance between capturing the spirit of the Games and that of the host city. There have been a few cities that have got aspects of it right but there have been logos over the years that vary from the culturally uninspiring to the controversial.</p>
<h2>Visual simplification</h2>
<p>De Coubertin’s design first appeared on the 1920 “<a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/ninety-nine-years-ago-the-olympic-flag-was-flown-for-the-first-time">Antwerp flag</a>”. But when this embodiment of noble idealism appeared at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, it was displayed alongside another of the 20th century’s most recognisable symbols, the Nazi swastika.</p>
<p>A simple black and white line design, the majority of the Berlin Games logo is taken up by a sinister-looking <a href="https://99designs.co.uk/blog/famous-design/olympic-logos/">eagle</a>, a common Nazi symbol, stood atop the Olympic rings. Buckling beneath the bird’s claws, the rings are flattened – a portent of the political oppression that was to come. </p>
<p>From the 1930s onwards, the growing influence of modernist “less is more” design saw the logos of the summer and winter Games increasingly adopt visual simplification. </p>
<p>The growth of multinational companies after the second world war fuelled a need for corporate identity schemes that could visually communicate with international, multilingual audiences. The visual clarity and abstraction of the “International Typographic Style” (often called the <a href="https://www.perlego.com/book/997998/meggs-history-of-graphic-design-pdf?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CjwKCAjwxo6IBhBKEiwAXSYBszQE3zBL3omqT1WS37S_QVln76RnZlKckpBm1kLmYGQw88ki54Nu9xoCyQ8QAvD_BwE">Swiss school</a>) was well suited to the job and also adopted for global events like the Olympics. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Japan rising sun on top of Olympic rings." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414536/original/file-20210804-19-1ymki94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414536/original/file-20210804-19-1ymki94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414536/original/file-20210804-19-1ymki94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414536/original/file-20210804-19-1ymki94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414536/original/file-20210804-19-1ymki94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414536/original/file-20210804-19-1ymki94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414536/original/file-20210804-19-1ymki94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Logo for Tokyo Olympics in 1964.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tokyo_1964_Summer_Olympics_logo.svg">International Olympics Committee/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The logo of the previous Tokyo Games in 1964, designed by Yusaku Kamekura and Masaru Katsumi, features a red sun with gold rings and bold letters that perfectly epitomises this minimalist style. Milton Glaser rated this Games’ logo as his favourite for the clear and simple way “<a href="https://www.pastemagazine.com/design/logo-design/milton-glasers-15-favorite-olympic-logo-designs-of/">the parts fit</a>”. Kamekura’s use of striking photography in his Olympic posters is another trait of Swiss modernism and his identity scheme successfully expresses a dynamic, modernising Japan. </p>
<p>For many, this system’s approach to graphic design reached its pinnacle at the 1972 Munich Olympics. <a href="https://www.famousgraphicdesigners.org/otl-aicher">Designer Otl Aicher</a>’s logo, <a href="https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/munich-1972/logo-design">a radiant black and white spiral beneath the Olympic rings</a>, is just part of a wider highly coherent design scheme. Its uniformity is achieved through a restrained colour palette and a complex geometric grid format that underpinned all elements – from posters to the iconic pictographs for each sporting discipline. However, Aicher’s design, like all modernist designs, has also been criticised for being too visually neutral and not culturally symbolic enough. </p>
<h2>Cultural identity and sport</h2>
<p>There have been logos that have managed to incorporate their culture successfully. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2018/05/30/feature/behind-the-iconic-graphics-from-1968-from-the-artists-who-created-them">1968 logo</a> for the Mexico City Olympiad, for instance, is widely revered for embodying local cultural identity by combining contemporary and Mexican folk art. Through its use of repeat line patterns and bright colours, a mesmeric modern logo that could be animated for film and TV was created. </p>
<p>Other designs since then have tried to achieve the same iconic status by striking the right balance between cultural identity and sport. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Mexico 68 in text." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414538/original/file-20210804-21-nslld4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414538/original/file-20210804-21-nslld4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414538/original/file-20210804-21-nslld4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414538/original/file-20210804-21-nslld4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414538/original/file-20210804-21-nslld4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414538/original/file-20210804-21-nslld4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414538/original/file-20210804-21-nslld4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">1968 Mexico Olympics logo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1968_Mexico_emblem.png">International Olympics Committee/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Designer Wolff Olins’ logo for London 2012, a fragmented collection of garishly coloured jagged shapes, seemed to speak to no one. It caused huge public outcry when first released and was even derided in the <a href="https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/designing-london-2012-logo">design press</a>.</p>
<p>Yet after Team GB did so well, winning 65 medals, the youthful, <a href="https://www.wired.com/2012/08/olympic-design/">graffiti-inspired logo and creepy one-eyed mascots</a> were reappraised as a successful attempt to break with the formulaic look of previous games. It was deemed a logo, along with director Danny Boyle’s quirky opening ceremony, that gave Britain a sense of its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jul/28/world-media-london-olympic-opening-ceremony">modern self</a> and spoke volumes of the idiosyncratic quality of British creativity. </p>
<p>Asao Tokolo’s designs for the Olympic and Paralympic Tokyo 2020 logos embody the sophistication and respect for Japanese tradition in the indigo-blue, chequered pattern. More debatable is whether the message of “<a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/games/emblem/">Unity in diversity</a>”, in the use of three varieties of rectangles, is widely understood.</p>
<p>The next Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024 will share a logo in an effort by the International Olympic Committee to be as inclusive as possible. But branding design experts have been less complimentary about the attempt to visually combine the gold medal, Olympic flame and Marianne (the symbol of French republicanism) into the logo. They have likened the graphic representation, which depending on how you look at it, to an <a href="https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/21-27-october-2019/paris-2024-olympic-logo-revealed/">oddly sexist 1920s flapper</a> rather than a modern sportswoman.</p>
<p>The Olympics have come full circle in 100 years: from Paris, back to Paris. But designing a successful host city logo has not become easier. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/24/tokyo-olympic-sport-displacing-athletes">Critics</a> of the decades-long political controversies surrounding the Games even suggest the Olympic logo now embodies other ideas, such as spiralling costs, corruption, social oppression and environmental impact. </p>
<p>As such, designing an Olympic logo that successfully captures the spirit of the event, while resonating with a local and global audience, has undoubtedly become increasingly difficult.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164984/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Brown does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A logo must artfully evoke the spirit of the Olympics as well as represent the host nation and it’s not an easy feat.Christopher Brown, Senior Lecturer in Graphic Design, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1651522021-08-03T20:44:28Z2021-08-03T20:44:28ZFrom outlier to Olympic sport: How skateboarding made it to the Tokyo Games<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414395/original/file-20210803-19-2ut00h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5564%2C3579&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Zion Wright of the United States takes part in a men's park skateboarding practice session at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ben Curtis) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If organizers could script skateboarding’s Olympic debut, they’d likely change very little about what unfolded in Tokyo. Hometown skater Yuto Horigome, who honed his craft on the streets of Tokyo, won the discipline’s <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/tokyo-olympics-live-updates/2021/07/25/1020382670/japans-own-wins-first-skateboarding-medal-at-tokyo-olympics#:%7E:text=Ezra%20Shaw%2FGetty%20Images%20TOKYO%20%E2%80%94%20In%20the%20neighborhood,air%2C%20sailed%20over%20staircases%20and%20glided%20on%20rails.">inaugural gold medal</a> in the men’s street competition. </p>
<p>The next day, <a href="https://www.nprillinois.org/2021-07-26/japan-is-golden-again-in-skateboarding-at-tokyo-olympics">13-year-old Momiji Nishiya</a> won Japan’s second skateboarding gold, finishing atop the podium in women’s street style to become the nation’s youngest ever Olympic gold medallist and the third youngest in the history of the Games.</p>
<p>And the Japanese domination continued in the women’s park event, when Sakura Yosozumi took the gold and 12-year-old Kokona Hiraki won silver.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The three athletes wave as they stand in the skateboard park with the Tokyo 2020 sign behind them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414573/original/file-20210804-19-1tdqeyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414573/original/file-20210804-19-1tdqeyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414573/original/file-20210804-19-1tdqeyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414573/original/file-20210804-19-1tdqeyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414573/original/file-20210804-19-1tdqeyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414573/original/file-20210804-19-1tdqeyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414573/original/file-20210804-19-1tdqeyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Silver medallist Kokona Hiraki of Japan, gold medallist Sakura Yosozumi of Japan and bronze medalist Sky Brown of Britain pose during a medals ceremony for the women’s park skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many people may find it strange to see skateboarding in the Olympics. And that’s not a slight on the skill or talent required to compete as an elite skateboarder — it’s strange because of skateboarding’s long history as a counter-cultural activity. </p>
<p>To participate in the Olympics, a sport needs an international federation that adheres to the Olympic Charter. Yet, it’s hard to imagine that some, if not most, skaters don’t scoff at <a href="https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/General/EN-Olympic-Charter.pdf?_ga=2.194823405.1504875107.1627918953-1425222182.1623163457">Rule 1</a>, which lays out the “supreme authority and leadership of the International Olympic Committee.”</p>
<p>What unfolded at Tokyo 2020 is just a small sliver of an activity, typically celebrated and cherished as a form of resistance against mainstream culture. Indeed, in its most basic form, skateboarding is still a quintessentially counter-cultural activity. </p>
<h2>Rooted in resistance</h2>
<p>Skating as we know it today evolved <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Skateboarding_and_the_City/Hb-EDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0">primarily in the 1970s and 1980s</a>, when innovators like Mark Gonzales (Street), Rodney Mullen (Street), and Tony Alva (Vert) were experimenting with new ways of using skateboards.</p>
<p>In the mid-1970s, purpose-built skate parks dotted America’s urban landscape. Competitions existed, but there was little money to be made. Skating was about camaraderie, creativity and personal expression.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/evkpvw/why-skateboarding-should-not-be-an-olympic-sport">2018 article for <em>Vice</em></a>, Cole Nowicki describes skateboarding as an art. Like so much art that came before it, skateboarding stood in opposition to prevailing notions of appropriate leisure and recreation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A skateboarder slides down a staircase railing while the Tokyo Olympic logo is in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414416/original/file-20210803-23-16gdrpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414416/original/file-20210803-23-16gdrpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414416/original/file-20210803-23-16gdrpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414416/original/file-20210803-23-16gdrpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414416/original/file-20210803-23-16gdrpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414416/original/file-20210803-23-16gdrpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414416/original/file-20210803-23-16gdrpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Yuto Horigome of Japan competes in his gold medal performance in the men’s street skateboarding at the 2020 Summer Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In an America dominated by sports with strict rules and regulations and confined to a stipulated playing field, skateboarding offered beautiful, unstructured freedom. There were no scores. No stadium. No limits. Improvisation was celebrated, not castigated.</p>
<p>There was little money in early professional skateboarding. Competitions paid virtually nothing. Skaters filmed “parts” demonstrating their abilities, hoping to gain a modest sponsorship from industry-specific companies. When John Cardiel was named the 1992 Thrasher Magazine Skater of the Year, for example, he was only <a href="http://www.thepowellmovement.com/listen/2018/6/17/s2-ep25-john-cardiel">earning $500 a month</a> as a professional skateboarder.</p>
<h2>From margin to mainstream</h2>
<p>The popularity of skateboarding eventually caught the attention of folks with deep pockets. In 1995, ESPN staged the first X-Games, encompassing skateboarding and eight other “extreme” sports.</p>
<p>Rather than the typical skate sponsors, <a href="https://www.xgamesmediakit.com/read-me/">the X-Games touted massive brands</a>, including Advil, Mountain Dew, Taco Bell, Chevy Trucks, AT&T, Nike and Miller Lite Ice. Although the X-Games placed new eyes on skateboarding, ESPN didn’t make millionaires out of skateboarders. The lifestyle of a professional skater largely remained a struggle to make ends meet.</p>
<p>Skaters first really took notice of the IOC when it staged a hostile takeover of snowboarding for the 1998 Nagano Olympics. As <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7exnq/how-the-olympics-ioc-thirst-for-youth-subculture-steamrolls-the-sports-we-love">Dvora Meyers recently highlighted in <em>Vice</em></a>, the IOC flexed its organizational muscle by rejecting the already established International Snowboarding Federation (ISF) — the group truly responsible for the global spread of the sport — moving snowboarding under the umbrella of the Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS). Rival FIS events were staged, forcing snowboarders to choose sides, resulting in the collapse of the IFS in 2002. </p>
<p>After enduring immense hostility from within snowboarding for its treatment of the IFS, the IOC moved rather more carefully when incorporating skateboarding into the 2020 Games. Although it looked like the IOC might hand jurisdiction over skateboarding to the International Roller Sports Federation, a merger with International Skateboarding Federation was ultimately secured, producing the IOC-recognized federation World Skate.</p>
<h2>A mixed response</h2>
<p>The skateboarding community is split over their pastime’s incorporation into the Olympics. In 2016, shortly after the IOC announced that skateboarding was joining the mega event, <em>Thrasher Magazine</em> <a href="https://www.thrashermagazine.com/articles/skateboarding-in-the-olympics/">reached out to 33 professional skaters</a> for their opinion on the arrival of Olympic Skateboarding. Responses ranged from excitement to revulsion.</p>
<p>For many skaters, competition is an afterthought. Take John Cardiel, for example. Hailed as a legend in the skate subculture, Cardiel was known for his high-speed style and daredevil risks. His reputation evolved on the ground, by seeking out the most challenging and interesting landscapes he could skate. His “part” tapes remain popular and, although he was a sponsored professional, he views skating as something more than a sport. </p>
<p>“To me, skateboarding is all about individuality and originality,” <a href="https://www.thrashermagazine.com/articles/skateboarding-in-the-olympics/">Cardiel told <em>Thrasher</em></a>. “It has nothing to do with highest, furthest, longest. Skating being an Olympic sport contradicts everything that I believe skateboarding to be.” </p>
<p>Cardiel’s career peaked in the 1990s before skateboarding was thoroughly commercialised via the X-Games and comparable events. But for skaters that rose to prominence in the 2000s, like American Olympian Nyjah Huston, the Olympics is another opportunity to expand the sport.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man skateboarding on a ramp" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414404/original/file-20210803-23-11p3njj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414404/original/file-20210803-23-11p3njj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414404/original/file-20210803-23-11p3njj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414404/original/file-20210803-23-11p3njj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414404/original/file-20210803-23-11p3njj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414404/original/file-20210803-23-11p3njj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414404/original/file-20210803-23-11p3njj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">American skateboarder Nyjah Huston competes in the men’s Street Final during an Olympic qualifying skateboard event.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Huston has won 12 X-Games gold medals and four world championships and his view of the Olympics couldn’t be more different than Cardiel’s: “I’m excited about the opportunity to be able to skate in the Olympics! Whether people like it or not, skateboarding is bound to grow into bigger things like this sooner or later. So, in my eyes, it might as well be now.”</p>
<h2>Silver lining</h2>
<p>2017 Vans Park Series World Champion Nora Vasconcellos has spent her young career balancing competition with the more traditional “part” videos that made Cardiel an icon of the sport. Although women skated from the beginning, opportunities have lagged behind the men. Vasconcellos hopes that the Olympics can help improve the lot of female skaters. </p>
<p>“I don’t care because skateboarding will always be skateboarding to me,” Vasconcellos told <em>Thrasher</em>. “If anything, it’s good because as women skaters we now have more contests to go to and travel opportunities. It totally changed snowboarding for the women. Once snowboarding was in the Olympics, women snowboarders were really able to just live off putting out video parts. The more girls who are making a living skateboarding, the more diversity there can be.”</p>
<p>The IOC’s interest in skateboarding, of course, is financial. Like a greedy vampire, it scans the sportscape in search of popular, youthful sports, capable of revitalizing its viewership. It will be up to the athletes to use the creativity, daring, and camaraderie skateboarding is known for to resist from the inside and preserve what they can of the skater subculture, lest the sport and art be separated, forever.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165152/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MacIntosh Ross does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Although it’s now an Olympic sport, at its core skateboarding is still a counter-cultural activity that represents creativity, community and personal expression.MacIntosh Ross, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1652802021-08-02T14:03:35Z2021-08-02T14:03:35ZThe Tokyo Olympics are billed as the first gender equal Games, but women still lack opportunities in sport<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414154/original/file-20210802-20-12sal0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3091%2C1920&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The German gymnastics team at the Tokyo Olympics wore full-legged unitards that went down to their ankles, eschewing the traditional bikini cut that ends high on the hip. The athletes said they were trying to combat the sexualization of young women and girls in their sport, which is trying to recover from a decades-long sexual abuse scandal.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Gregory Bull) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The International Olympic Committee has called the Tokyo Olympics the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/tokyo-2020-equal-gender-participation-1.6110907">most gender equal Games</a> off all time, with women comprising a record-breaking 49 per cent of participants. </p>
<p>This near gender parity is long overdue. By adding 18 new events and establishing equal number of spots for men and women in every sport except baseball and softball, the IOC was able to reach this goal. There is also a higher number of <a href="https://www.si.com/olympics/2021/07/31/mixed-gender-events-olympics-swimming-track-golf">mixed-gender competitions</a>. </p>
<p>Several countries, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/22/sports/olympics/olympics-athletes-gender.html">including Australia, Britain, Canada and China</a>, have sent teams to Tokyo with more women than men. Team selection is based on an athlete’s prior achievements and chances to win a medal. For a country like Canada, women dominated the medal haul in the first week of competition, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-women-are-owning-the-podium-for-canada-at-the-tokyo-olympics-165213">taking 13 medals</a> before a male athlete made it to the podium. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1421644349356474369"}"></div></p>
<p>But aside from increasing the opportunity for women to compete at the Olympics, the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games are still lacking gender equality in other areas.</p>
<h2>Gender equality gaps in sport</h2>
<p>In an example of how women’s bodies are still heavily policed in sport, Paralympian Olivia Breen was recently told by the International Paralympic Committee that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/sports/olympics/paralympian-olivia-breen-shorts.html">her uniform was too revealing</a>.</p>
<p>While not an Olympic sport, the recent fining of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/sports/norway-beach-handball-team.html">Norwegian beach handball team</a> for wearing shorts instead of the typical bikini uniform has sparked a global conversation about the sexualization of female athletes, and even <a href="https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/31889339/pop-singer-pink-supports-norwegian-women-beach-handball-team-protest-fines-very-sexist-uniform-rules">drew the attention and support of singer Pink</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1419127641068630016"}"></div></p>
<p>In their own statement to protest the sexualization of their sport, the German gymnastics team wore <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/26/sport/tokyo-germany-unitard-intl-scli-spt/index.html">full-body unitards</a> instead of the usual high-cut leotards. It was a decision made by the gymnasts themselves, one that was fully supported by their coaches; possibly because of a recent scandal.</p>
<p>Beyond uniforms, we have seen women have to fight for their right to participate in the Games after <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/olympics/article/canadian-boxer-mandy-bujold-wins-olympic-appeal/">giving birth</a> and fight to bring the babies they were <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/article/gauchers-breastfeeding-exception-quest-equity-issue-larger-sports/">breastfeeding</a> to the Games. American Olympian Allyson Felix is stepping up to help <a href="https://www.today.com/parents/allyson-felix-giving-olympic-moms-money-childcare-t225225">pay for childcare expenses</a> for women athletes so they can participate. </p>
<p>We have also seen the Olympics become an unsafe space for women: an intricate plan involving <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/31/sports/olympics/us-fencing-pink-masks.html">separate planes and accommodations</a> was constructed to allow a member of the U.S. fencing team accused of sexual impropriety against other athletes to participate in Tokyo. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-tokyo-olympics-will-be-the-games-of-all-mothers-163862">The Tokyo Olympics will be the Games of all mothers</a>
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<h2><strong>Equal participation does not mean equity</strong></h2>
<p>Despite equality in athlete numbers, the IOC has not made a similar push for gender parity within its own organization. Women within the IOC occupy only a third of the executive boards and <a href="https://www.givemesport.com/1523011-womens-sports-huge-inequality-exposed-on-international-sports-federation-boards">only 37.5 per cent of committee positions</a>. </p>
<p>The International Paralympic Committee faces similar issues, with only 25 per cent board positions held by women. Neither organization has had a woman as president. Many of the international federations that govern each sport has equally dismal gender equity issues at the governing level.</p>
<p>Research shows us that having gender diversity in organizations is not only a moral imperative, but also enables better <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter/">thinking and problem-solving</a>, greater <a href="https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/gender-diversity-at-the-board-level-can-mean-innovation-success/">innovation</a> and <a href="https://library.pcw.gov.ph/sites/default/files/does%20female%20representation%20in%20top%20management.pdf">better performance</a>.</p>
<p>When it comes to sport organizations, recent research has shown that having women on boards provides <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345482961_Women_representation_in_the_boardroom_of_Canadian_sport_governing_bodies_structural_and_financial_characteristics_of_three_organizational_clusters">better financial performance</a>.</p>
<h2>Unequal media coverage</h2>
<p><a href="https://journals-sagepub-com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/doi/full/10.1177/2167479519863652">Media coverage</a> of women athletes is a long-standing issue. A recent example that has come under scrutiny is when an <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/swimming-ecstatic-aussie-coach-goes-viral-with-medal-worthy-celebrations-2021-07-26/">Australian swim coach’s</a> celebration received more media attention than the Olympic champion herself. </p>
<p>In an important sign of change, the NBC coverage in the United States has covered women more than men, <a href="https://fiveringtv.com/2021/07/26/tokyo-olympics-primetime-report-day-3-nbc-devotes-more-coverage-to-women-by-a-more-than-2-to-1-margin-women-now-lead-total-coverage-after-three-days/">almost 2-1</a>, possibly because they are winning more medals.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Thompson-Herah reacts with joy with her arms outstretched while her teammates cross the finish line in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414153/original/file-20210802-18-1w9p3mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414153/original/file-20210802-18-1w9p3mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414153/original/file-20210802-18-1w9p3mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414153/original/file-20210802-18-1w9p3mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414153/original/file-20210802-18-1w9p3mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414153/original/file-20210802-18-1w9p3mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414153/original/file-20210802-18-1w9p3mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica reacts as she crosses the finish line to win the women’s 100-metres final at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Jamaica swept the medals in the 100 metres.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Historically, gender equity programs have benefited primarily <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2020/03/07/gender-equity-is-useless-without-racial-equity/?sh=4ab680307b4f">white women</a>. Gender equity cannot be addressed without addressing racial equity, especially because for countries like Canada, <a href="https://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/2017/05/11/olympic-athletes-disproportionately-white-and-privately-educated-compared-to-general-population/">Olympic athletes are disproportionately white</a>.</p>
<p>Many past initiatives have failed to address either issue. One popular way that we have seen is “fixing women” and not the <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/03/whats-really-holding-women-back?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter">structural sexism</a> that exists in organizations. To truly move ahead we need to focus on structural changes and to stop holding underrepresented groups hostage to stereotypes.</p>
<p>Sport researchers have <a href="https://womenandsport.ca/resources/research-insights/the-pandemic-impact-on-girls-in-sport/">long advocated for increased participation</a> of girls and women in sport. In most countries, women and girls are <a href="https://sportforlife.ca/women-and-girls/">still vastly underrepresented</a> in sport and physical activity.</p>
<p>So while we are cheering on the Olympians during these Games, let’s also be looking for ways to create real systemic change to effect true equity in sport - this is the true gold medal goal.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165280/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ann Pegoraro receives funding from Sport Canada. She is a co-director of E-Alliance, Canada's new Gender Equity in Sport Research Hub</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Felix Arndt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Tokyo Olympic Games are being called the most gender-equal Games ever — but does that label hold up under scrutiny?Ann Pegoraro, Lang Chair in Sport Management, Lang School of Business and Economics, University of GuelphFelix Arndt, John F. Wood Chair in Entrepreneurship, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1652192021-07-30T16:59:04Z2021-07-30T16:59:04ZSimone Biles and Naomi Osaka put the focus on the importance of mental performance for Olympic athletes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413833/original/file-20210729-27-1o2sjg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C40%2C3032%2C1975&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Simone Biles’ sponsors, including Athleta and Visa, are lauding her decision to put her mental health first and withdraw from the gymnastics team competition during the Olympics. It’s the latest example of sponsors praising athletes who are increasingly open about mental health issues. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/simone-biles-and-naomi-osaka-put-the-focus-on-the-importance-of-mental-performance-for-olympic-athletes" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The Tokyo Olympics will go down in history for many reasons. It was the first Olympics to be postponed, the first to be held in the midst of a pandemic and the first to be held without spectators.</p>
<p>But these Olympics will also be remembered for another first — the public airing of <a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a37146642/simone-biles-naomi-osaka-olympics-loss-criticism-essay/">mental health challenges by two of the world’s biggest sports superstars</a>, gymnast Simone Biles and tennis player Naomi Osaka.</p>
<p>The Tokyo Olympics are not the first Games to face unique challenges.</p>
<p>Midway through the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/documentarychannel/features/terrorism-at-the-munich-olympic-games-how-an-event-four-decades-ago-has-a-l">1972 Olympics in Munich</a>, the athletes’ village was taken over by terrorists, resulting in 11 Israeli athletes being killed. Remarkably, after suspending the Games for only 24 hours, athletes returned to competition. </p>
<p>At the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2017/08/02/90s-nineties-terrorism-centennial-olympic-park-bombing.cnn">1994 Atlanta Olympics</a>, a pipe bomb was detonated at the Centennial Olympic Park, killing one person and injuring 111 others. </p>
<p>And much like the Tokyo Olympics, the 1920 Antwerp Games were held on the heels of the influenza pandemic.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sardines-for-breakfast-hypothermia-rescues-the-story-of-the-cash-strapped-post-pandemic-1920-olympics-162246">Sardines for breakfast, hypothermia rescues: the story of the cash-strapped, post-pandemic 1920 Olympics</a>
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<p>When athletes rise to the occasion under difficult conditions, we say they are mentally tough — and we applaud them. But if they should fail to deliver an expected performance, we assume they have choked.</p>
<p>And yet, as we’ve seen with Biles and Osaka — two athletes who are the best in the world in their respective sports — none of us watching the Olympics can ever truly know what other additional or personal problems an athlete may be facing. </p>
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<img alt="Woman player crouched with a tennis racquet in one hand after returning a hit." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413842/original/file-20210729-21-o5aenh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413842/original/file-20210729-21-o5aenh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413842/original/file-20210729-21-o5aenh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413842/original/file-20210729-21-o5aenh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413842/original/file-20210729-21-o5aenh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413842/original/file-20210729-21-o5aenh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413842/original/file-20210729-21-o5aenh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka, who was favoured to win in Tokyo, was eliminated after losing in straight sets to the Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova. Osaka has been open about her mental health struggles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)</span></span>
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<p>It’s easy for athletes to perceive a greater burden to perform, to struggle with distinguishing their identity from their performances and, for a favoured athlete like Biles or Osaka, to feel the weight of the world on their shoulders.</p>
<p>In fact, few athletes can return to the Olympic Games and win again after winning in the previous Games.</p>
<p>In 1993, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1993-31617-001">researchers interviewed world champion athletes</a> and found that success resulted in greater demands for athletes, compromising future high-level performances unless they were able to control both the expectations they placed on themselves and the expectations of external demands like media, sponsors and public appearances.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-olympic-athletes-choke-at-the-winter-games-92018">Why Olympic athletes 'choke' at the Winter Games</a>
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<p>One of the many things that makes the Tokyo Olympics a unique Games is the absence of crowds. For some athletes, the presence of a crowd can help them get into an optimal performance state.</p>
<p>When I was competing for Canada in the high jump, I drew a lot of energy off the crowd — and consequently had better performances in a packed stadium. But if there were few fans in the stands, I had to really work on my mental game to perform well. </p>
<p>Other athletes, however, prefer the absence of a crowd because they can improve focus and keep their arousal level under control. </p>
<h2>Mental health and mental performance</h2>
<p>The demands on athletes at these Games have sparked a lot of discussions about mental health, but not so much about mental performance. </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response">World Health Organization</a>, mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4813415/pdf/10.1177_0706743715616609.pdf">mental health continuum</a> can span from being mentally healthy, to daily mental distresses, to mental health problems or mental illnesses. </p>
<p>We all experience daily mental distresses like failing at our jobs, pressures from school work or having a disagreement with someone close to us. When faced with these challenges, we are generally able to cope and adjust, and eventually return ourselves to a state of good mental health.</p>
<p>Mental health problem are moments in life when we are faced with substantial challenges that are difficult to manage — the loss of a loved one, a sexual assault or a divorce. These can be prolonged, but they are not a mental disorder. A <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/what-is-mental-illness">mental illness</a> is a clinically diagnosed mental disorder like depression or bipolar disorder, resulting in distress or problems with functioning. </p>
<p>Mental performance is concerned with the psychology of sport performance, whereby optimal performance and the well-being of athletes are addressed using mental skills training.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Dealing with the terminal illness of his coach, Pete Sampras fights back tears at the 1995 Australian Open._</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Sport psychology is integral</h2>
<p>The ultimate goal of mental skills training is self-regulation, meaning athletes understand the conditions that they perform at their best, the conditions where they don’t and how they are able to adapt and adjust themselves to be in a state for optimal performance.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1037/1089-2680.1.2.145?journalCode=rgpa">Research has shown</a> that when an individual’s self-esteem is threatened and they experience emotional distress, self-regulation and coping efforts can fail. </p>
<p>Mental skills training helps athletes effectively cope and return to a state of mental health quickly when they’re in mental distress. Athletes proficient in self-regulation can adapt and adjust themselves mentally when they are not in their desired mental state to still deliver a great performance.</p>
<p>Many athletes and coaches will work with a registered <a href="https://www.cspa-acps.com/">mental performance consultant</a> to develop these mental skills. But only over the last two decades, as sport began to really embrace mental training as an integral component in an integrated support team, has this practice become popular. </p>
<p>The problem with mental performance is that it is intangible. It’s easy to see physical improvements, like with strength training, but it’s much more difficult to see improvements in confidence or mental resilience.</p>
<p>While most athletes and coaches do acknowledge sport psychology as critical to performance, it often receives the least amount of attention in training. Mental skills have been found to be a defining factor that <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=82D85D4CACC1C385E575CB132FA503A2?doi=10.1.1.461.2209&rep=rep1&type=pdf">distinguishes successful Olympians from less successful Olympians</a>. </p>
<h2>Starting a conversation</h2>
<p>When athletes perform under pressure and deliver incredible performances, they are lauded as being mentally tough. However, if they struggle or choke under pressure, they may be <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-australia-robbins-idUSSP34181920080501">called mentally weak</a>. </p>
<p>While we tend to be more accepting of someone battling mental health issues, we are less accepting of athletes battling mental performance issues. Both should be accepted and supported, as the Tokyo Games are illustrating.</p>
<p>Biles and Osaka have demonstrated to the world that only the athlete ever truly knows what is going on and only they are capable of making decisions that serves their best interests. Biles and Osaka have also assisted in encouraging discussions of mental health and mental performance. </p>
<p>While mental performance and mental health are not necessarily mutually exclusive, struggling with a mental performance does not automatically mean an athlete is having a mental health problem. It also doesn’t mean an athlete is mentally weak. </p>
<p>But one takeaway from these Olympics should be the importance of sport psychology. Psychologist Abraham Maslow, the father of self-actualization, estimated <a href="https://psycnet-apa-org.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/record/2013-21499-004">less than one per cent of the adult population</a> would ever realize their full potential.</p>
<p>As we explore the <a href="https://play.acast.com/s/8dbe0078-836e-5c4a-a4e3-49c07a5f207b/60f911e726930a00130eb7e1">human potential in sport</a>, it’s time to realize that mental training is just as important as physical training to achieve incredible performances.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165219/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole W. Forrester does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two of the world’s top athletes have raised awareness of mental health issues on the Olympic stage. An Olympian explains why mental training can be as important as physical training.Nicole W. Forrester, Assistant Professor, School of Media, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1652132021-07-29T17:40:10Z2021-07-29T17:40:10ZWhy women are owning the podium for Canada at the Tokyo Olympics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413902/original/file-20210730-15-15u6fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C34%2C5758%2C3375&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Canada’s Lisa Roman, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Christine Roper, Andrea Proske, Susanne Grainger, Madison Mailey, Sydney Payne, Avalon Wasteneys and Kristen Kit celebrate on the podium after winning the gold medal in women’s eight rowing competition at the Tokyo Olympics.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld </span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/why-women-are-owning-the-podium-for-canada-at-the-tokyo-olympics" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Margaret Mac Neil. Kylie Masse. The women’s softball team. Maude Charron. The women’s 4x100-metre freestyle swimming team. Jennifer Abel and Mélissa Citrini-Beaulieu. Jessica Klimkait. Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard. Caileigh Filmer and Hillary Janssens. Penny Oleksiak. The women’s eight rowing crew.</p>
<p>Canadian women are owning the podium at the Tokyo Olympics. But why?</p>
<p>One week into the Tokyo Olympics, Canada has won 11 medals — all by women. Swimmer Penny Oleksiak became Canada’s most decorated Summer Olympian when she won a silver and bronze in the pool this week to go along with a gold, two silvers and a bronze from the 2016 Rio Games.</p>
<p>Part of the story of the success by the Canadian women could be gender parity — Tokyo 2020 has been lauded as <a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/tokyo-2020-first-ever-gender-balanced-games-record-number-of-competitors-para">the first gender-balanced Olympic Games in history</a>. Yet Canadian women also outperformed our men at Rio 2016 where they returned with 16 of 22 medals. Things have been more balanced in other recent Summer and Winter Olympics.</p>
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<img alt="Woman holding a bouquet of flowers beams from behind a medical face mask." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Penny Oleksiak became the most decorated Canadian summer Olympian of all time with her bronze medal win in the women’s 200-meter freestyle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Martin Meissner)</span></span>
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<p>Only three Canadians have won four Olympic golds — women again: hockey legends Caroline Oulette, Jayna Hefford and Hayley Wickenheiser. A total medal count puts Cindy Klassen, Clara Hughes and now Oleksiak at the top, with six each.</p>
<p>The emergence of Oleksiak, Wickenheiser, Klassen, Hughes and others, like soccer superstar Christine Sinclair, as household names speaks to the cultural impact of elite women’s sport in Canada. This is a good thing — for many reasons.</p>
<h2>Why we need this boost</h2>
<p>A 2020 Canadian Women in Sport <a href="https://womenandsport.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Canadian-Women-Sport_The-Rally-Report.pdf">report found</a> that one in three girls will leave sport by age 16 compared to one in 10 boys. A 2021 <a href="https://womenandsport.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/COVID-Alert-final-English-July-2021.pdf">followup report</a> lays bare yet another devastating gut punch to women’s well-being: one in four girls are not committed to return to sport post-pandemic. That means an additional 350,000 girls sitting on the sidelines. Seeing Canadian female athletes shine at the Olympics provides a much-needed morale boost.</p>
<p>Media coverage in Canada is rightly celebrating this female athlete success. The absence of male medallists — so far — while not a desirable outcome in itself, gives both young girls and boys the chance to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17430437.2014.997581">be inspired by female role models</a> succeeding at the highest level of sport.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman standing behind weightlifting barbell covers the lower half of her face, looking overcome with emotion." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Maude Charron won Canada’s second gold medal at the Tokyo Games in the women’s 64-kilogram weightlifting competition.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Luca Bruno)</span></span>
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<p>What’s more, changing male perceptions of traditional gender roles <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-11235-001">could save lives</a>, according to a 2017 European study. Given a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10896-011-9375-3">startling 2017 finding</a> that unsupported female empowerment could actually increase rates of domestic violence, transforming boys and men into allies is vital. It may prove to play a key role in ending the so-called “<a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/in-focus-gender-equality-in-covid-19-response/violence-against-women-during-covid-19">shadow pandemic</a>” of domestic violence that has raged throughout COVID-19 lockdowns.</p>
<h2>Sport is good – really good – for health</h2>
<p>Sport can provide mental and physical health benefits, social connection, confidence and leadership skills. It’s a big problem that <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ian-Janssen/publication/322295083_Physical_activity_of_Canadian_children_and_youth_2007_to_2015/links/5a5f5ab7aca27273524361a5/Physical-activity-of-Canadian-children-and-youth-2007-to-2015.pdf">only seven per cent of Canadian youth</a> are meeting national physical activity guidelines for health. Olympic inspiration can change that. </p>
<p>I should know. As a sedentary teenager in New Brunswick, I turned on the small TV in the convenience store where I worked and watched the Olympics for the first time. I saw rowing legends Silken Laumann, Marnie McBean and Kathleen Heddle winning medals for Canada.</p>
<p>It was the first time I made the connection between the exceptional performances I saw on TV with the rowers I watched drift serenely by each morning on the vast expanse that is the Saint John River. I suddenly realized Canadians were really good at this. Soon after, I joined a learn-to-row program and my own Olympic journey began.</p>
<p>In other words — you have to see it to be it.</p>
<h2>Why we must go further</h2>
<p>Women are finding their voices, now more than ever. We see it in the realization of gender parity for the first time at an Olympic Games, in the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/gymnastics/gymnastics-germany-unitards-sexualization-1.6116621">German Olympic gymnastics</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/norway-shorts-instead-of-bikini-handball-fine-1.6110921">Norwegian national beach handball</a> teams speaking out against hypersexualization by refusing to wear “regulation” uniforms in the face of financial sanctions, and in new mothers refusing to be separated from their nursing infants to attend the Olympics or standing up to skeptical sponsors who cut their funding.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman in full unitard doing a split jump in midair." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The German gymnastics team wore full-legged unitards that went down to their ankles, eschewing the traditional bikini cut that ends high on the hip. The athletes said they were trying to combat the sexualization of young women and girls in their sport, which is trying to recover from a decades-long sexual abuse scandal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These are all positive signs of a broader cultural shift in our collective perceptions of women in sport and society. Despite these major strides — equal representation, autonomy of clothing choice, freedom to have a family and compete — women remain underfunded and underrepresented in sport policy, sport science <a href="https://sportsmedicine-open.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40798-019-0224-x">and sport medicine</a>.</p>
<p>With so many women in the limelight like never before, it’s time for policy-makers, clinicians, sport scientists and researchers to step up and meet the challenge of not only keeping our Canadian women on the podium, but ensuring that all Canadian athletes are fairly reflected in sport policy, science and medicine. </p>
<p>The tension is building — and it’s good. Canadian women are defying the rules of age, motherhood and funding. Now it’s time we ensure women enjoy the same fundamental supports as men in every way.</p>
<p>Soak it in. Celebrate it. Promote it. Lifting up Canadian women’s success in sport bodes well not only for our future generations of athletes, but for our nation as a whole.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165213/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Thornton receives funding as a Canada Research Chair in Injury Prevention and Physical Activity for Health. She receives an honorarium as Editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.</span></em></p>Canadian women’s success at the Tokyo Games bodes well not only for our future generations of athletes, but for our nation as a whole.Jane Thornton, Clinician Scientist, Canada Research Chair in Injury Prevention and Physical Activity for Health, Sport Medicine Physician, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1651422021-07-29T12:16:38Z2021-07-29T12:16:38ZThe politics of the Olympics: How a counter-movement in 1963 changed the Games forever<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413573/original/file-20210728-13-izw15r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C3%2C2384%2C1349&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The 1964 Olympics in Tokyo banned all athletes who took part in a counter-competition a year earlier called the Games of the New Emerging Forces, which were dubbed the left-wing Olympics </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-politics-of-the-olympics--how-a-counter-movement-in-1963-changed-the-games-forever" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The Olympic Charter states one of the fundamental principles of Olympism is that “<a href="https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/General/EN-Olympic-Charter.pdf?_ga=2.207253267.1863595436.1627389884-1889120417.1624282455">sports organizations within the Olympic Movement shall apply political neutrality</a>.” In reality, the Olympics and politics are inseparable — and a movement in Asia almost 60 years ago has had a lasting impact on how the Olympics have become heavily politicized. </p>
<p>In the 1960s, some 36 countries embraced a new counter-Olympics: <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26549192">GANEFO, the Games of the New Emerging Forces</a>. GANEFO formed to challenge the International Olympic Committee, “a tool of the imperialists and colonialists,” in the words of then Indonesian president Sukarno. After GANEFO, the IOC was forced to accept that sports were often political. There was no going back. </p>
<p>GANEFO presented the IOC with an unprecedented challenge. “Sports cannot be separated from politics,” Sukarno declared. <a href="https://library.olympics.com/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/40898/the-olympic-movement-s-response-to-the-challenge-of-emerging-nationalism-in-sport-an-historical-reco?_lg=en-GB">IOC President Avery Brundage deplored</a> this “challenge to all international amateur sports organizations, which cannot very well be ignored.” There was “such a thing as rules and regulations,” he sniffed. </p>
<p>GANEFO, not the <a href="https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/tokyo-1964">Tokyo Olympics of 1964</a>, was the first major global sporting event held in Asia. While Japan threw a “coming out” party that symbolized its return to the global stage after the Second World War as a rules-abiding country, Indonesia and its GANEFO allies (initially Cambodia, China, Guinea, Indonesia, Iraq, Mali, Pakistan, Vietnam, and the Soviet Union) rejected the rules of the game. </p>
<p>GANEFO posed a new way for the world to organize and understand global sports. Its origins lie in the Asian Games, a regional competition held every four years between the Summer Olympics.</p>
<p>Eleven national teams took part in the <a href="https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/1951-first-asian-games-in-india/285751">first Asian Games</a> in 1951, with Japan topping the medal count. The host, India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=JWmHDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false">identified a very political goal</a>: sports “bring together the youth of many countries and thus help, to some extent, in promoting international friendship and cooperation.” Subsequent Asian Games in Manila and Tokyo embraced Olympian language of friendly competition along with promotion of the host country’s global role. </p>
<p>That changed when the <a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1068999/controversy-ruled-the-last-time-jakarta-hosted-the-asian-games-in-1962">Third Asian Games</a> opened in Indonesia in 1962. Sukarno’s government refused admission to Israel and Taiwan in response to the wishes of the Arab states and China. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A poster showing an arm holding a torch with GAMEFO at the top of the poster." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413403/original/file-20210727-19-1sx10qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413403/original/file-20210727-19-1sx10qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=731&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413403/original/file-20210727-19-1sx10qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=731&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413403/original/file-20210727-19-1sx10qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=731&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413403/original/file-20210727-19-1sx10qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=919&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413403/original/file-20210727-19-1sx10qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=919&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413403/original/file-20210727-19-1sx10qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=919&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A poster from the 1963 Games of the New Emerging Forces.</span>
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</figure>
<p>Consequently, the IOC refused to recognize the Games. With athletes and national delegations already in Jakarta, they went ahead regardless. Hometown fans thrilled at the sight of Indonesia finishing second to Japan in the medal count. The IOC expelled Indonesia. </p>
<p>Brundage was furious. “Are governments going to expand the Cold War onto playing fields?” he asked. Sukarno shot back that the IOC was already political, a Cold War organization that excluded China and North Vietnam because both were under Communist rule. </p>
<p>That was when <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26549192">Sukarno called the IOC</a> “a tool of the imperialists and colonialists” that betrayed the founding Olympics ideals and falsely claimed to keep sports and politics separate, while in fact imposing an anti-Communist purity test. So he called for another sporting event, GANEFO, in 1963. </p>
<p>It was, he argued, a way to even the playing field for the athletes and aspirations of Third World nations, and a chance for Indonesia to use sports as a way to build national infrastructure and national swagger. “Boy, what kind of a nation do they think we are?” Sukarno asked of the IOC. “I have repeatedly said that we are not a bean-cake nation!” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A cartoon that shows a steam roller chasing members of the IOC." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413406/original/file-20210727-13-zf3azw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413406/original/file-20210727-13-zf3azw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413406/original/file-20210727-13-zf3azw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413406/original/file-20210727-13-zf3azw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413406/original/file-20210727-13-zf3azw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413406/original/file-20210727-13-zf3azw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413406/original/file-20210727-13-zf3azw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Indonesian political cartoon shows the conflict between the organizers of GANEFO and the International Olympic Committee.</span>
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</figure>
<p>Opinions differ on the GANEFO’s success. Most athletes came unofficially, and the event featured almost as many dancers and musicians as athletes. China led the Soviet Union and Indonesia atop the medal table. What GANEFO did achieve, however, was its goal of nation-building through sports. </p>
<p>Indonesia did not prevail in its challenge, but it did not suffer any damage. It gained readmission to the IOC in time for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics — but <a href="http://www.olympedia.org/definitions/57">chose to boycott the Games</a> after the IOC refused to allow athletes who competed at GANEFO to take part in the ’64 Olympics.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the rules of global sports were changing. It would be difficult to pretend that international sports were apolitical after this point. </p>
<p>The IOC <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/18/newsid_3547000/3547872.stm">barred South Africa</a> from the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and sports <a href="https://www.universal-rights.org/by-invitation/from-apartheid-south-africa-to-the-euro-2020-football-championship-how-sport-and-human-rights-make-for-natural-teammates/">boycotts of South Africa</a> played a role in mounting global pressure to end apartheid.</p>
<p>The Olympics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/england-v-south-africa-a-history-of-tough-tackling-and-political-turmoil-126148">rugby and other sports</a> would become arenas of international political confrontation and boycotts on a regular basis, nearly derailing, for instance, the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/sports/montreal-olympics-african-boycott-of-1976-games-changed-the-world">1976 Olympics</a> in Montréal. Indigenous peoples continually point out the troubles with “apolitical” framing of the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jsporthistory.46.2.0224">Winter Olympics held in Canada</a>.</p>
<p>Organizers awarded the second GANEFO to Egypt, but had to cancel the event as war with Israel loomed. Instead, Cambodia hosted an “Asian GANEFO” in 1966. The <a href="https://youtu.be/sTbZOPFnXqI">opening ceremonies</a> attempted to evoke the same nation-building efforts as Indonesia’s GANEFO.</p>
<p>With the end of this last hurrah, GANEFO faded from the scene. One can see its legacy, however, in the way that Third World governments would subsequently use sports as one avenue to pursue international political goals. In this sense, GANEFO won the day.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Webster does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Olympics claim not to be political, but in the 1960s a counter movement organized by left-leaning countries put politics front and centre.David Webster, Associate Professor of History / Professeur Agrégé, Département d’Histoire, Bishop's UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1651712021-07-28T04:24:23Z2021-07-28T04:24:23ZWhat Olympic gymnasts can teach us about improving our balance<p>The acrobatic handsprings, somersaults and twists performed by world-class gymnasts at the Tokyo Olympics are among the most complex skills humans can perform.</p>
<p>But at their heart is an instinctive process that can help teach us mere mortals how to stay safe from falls as we move much less spectacularly around our own environment.</p>
<p>To complete acrobatic manoeuvres, gymnasts need energy. In most cases, this energy comes from the jump performed at the start of the element, often after a run-up to gain momentum.</p>
<p>But the power in the jump has less to do with the power output of the gymnast’s muscles, and more to do with the power generated by the springy floor, or by the springboard in the case of a vault, as well as the elasticity of the gymnast’s own tendons. </p>
<p>To optimise the power of the spring from the floor or springboard, the gymnasts have to perfectly set the stiffness of their own spring — the spring of their legs — to get the most power. You can see this process in slow motion in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrbzL2PG8Uo">this video</a>.</p>
<p>When walking or running on a hard surface such as concrete, our joints flex and extend a lot in each jump as our muscles control the joints — compare the video below to the one linked above. But on a springy trampoline we don’t flex our joints much, instead keeping our legs straighter and using less muscle work. That’s why we can jump for much longer without tiring on a trampoline.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cxu9DmdytJg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">When jumping on a hard surface, we flex the joints considerably so our ‘leg spring’ is less stiff than on a sprung surface.</span></figcaption>
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<p>To perfectly “tune” their leg spring to make the most of the springy surface, gymnasts pre-activate their muscles before hitting the floor to begin their jump, using dozens of muscles to adopt a very specific joint configuration that delivers the perfect leg stiffness.</p>
<p>Then, when hitting the ground immediately before takeoff, a variety of reflexes can be triggered that can influence muscle force and alter leg spring stiffness. The gymnast has to compensate for these in advance because the contact time with the ground is too short to make any reactive adjustments during takeoff.</p>
<p>Getting this right takes countless hours of practice, over many years.</p>
<p>What happens when the gymnast then moves to the beam, which is much less springy? They have to adapt their muscle activation to generate a different amount of leg stiffness. They have to be able to tailor their jumping technique with exquisite accuracy to cope with different surfaces.</p>
<p>It sounds technical, but we all do it to a certain extent. We walk, run and jump on surfaces with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9029193/">vastly different stiffnesses</a>, from concrete to carpet, to grass or sand. Failing to adjust our own leg spring stiffness can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22200391/">increase the energy cost of moving</a>, leading to fatigue, and potentially increase our risk of falling. This can be life-threatening – falls leading to hip fractures in older people massively <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19421703/">increase the risk of death</a> in following months and years.</p>
<p>Both in early childhood, when we’re first learning to move, and in older age, when <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31292471/">walking costs more energy</a> and the risk of falling is greater, it’s hugely valuable to practise walking across a range of different surfaces. You can do it by taking walks along forest tracks (especially if rocks and concrete paths intermingle with dirt or grass) or sandy beaches (walking in shallow moving water is also a nice way to stay cool in summer while honing your balance). Your local park might also have equipment designed to practise balancing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two hikers on mountain trail" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hiking on rough terrain is a great way to keep your legs working at their best.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Toomas Tartes/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Do the twist</h2>
<p>Gymnasts need to know how to complete a variety of somersaults and twists. For this they need lots of rotational energy, most of which comes from the initial run-up and jump. Once airborne, you can’t grab more energy!</p>
<p>So gymnasts have to launch off the floor, springboard or beam with the perfect amount of rotation to execute their acrobatic manoeuvre. This requires tremendous precision — “sticking” the landing requires completing the planned number of rotations in perfect time for their feet to hit the floor and avoid toppling over.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-olympic-athletes-stack-up-against-invertebrates-not-very-well-164488">How do Olympic athletes stack up against invertebrates? Not very well</a>
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<p>Amazingly, elite gymnasts can also transition in mid-air between different types of tumbling, perhaps moving from a straight somersault to an angled twist. But how do they do this, if they can’t take on more energy halfway? </p>
<p>They do it by rotating their arms to change their direction of rotation. This can be seen clearly in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2qWgL19sJc">this slow-motion video</a>. </p>
<p>We all do the same thing, especially if we’re trying not to fall over. Newton’s third law says every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So by rotating our arms in the opposite direction to the way we’re falling, we can attempt to push our body back upright. Notice how a gymnast on a beam uses their arms to make sure they don’t fall off.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Angelina Melnikova during a beam routine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Russian gymnast Angelina Melnikova, demonstrating the importance of arms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ashley Landis/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is another tip we can all learn from elite gymnasts. Using your arms is an important part of maintaining balance, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31803048/">particularly during exercise</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-do-our-bodies-balance-themselves-64737">Explainer: how do our bodies balance themselves?</a>
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</em>
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<p>You can practise balancing every day by standing on one leg to do daily tasks, walking along lines in the concrete or on balance beams in the play area at your local park, or even by standing up to put on pants and socks rather than sitting on the bed or a chair. </p>
<p>Children and adults alike can also play sports or exercise in the playground — we’re never too old to play, and play is the best way to learn any physical skill.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165171/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Blazevich does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Gymnasts need to carefully calibrate their leg muscles to gain optimum spring from the floor, springboard or beam. And their arms are crucial for balance and creating the right amount of rotation.Anthony Blazevich, Professor of Biomechanics, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1636232021-07-27T12:25:43Z2021-07-27T12:25:43ZRecord-setting performances at the Tokyo Olympics come after months of pandemic-induced stress<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413204/original/file-20210726-27-b9urys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C4757%2C3064&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Canada's Margaret Mac Neil swims to a gold medal in the women's 100 metre butterfly final during at the Tokyo Olympics. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn </span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/record-setting-performances-at-the-tokyo-olympics-come-after-months-of-pandemic-induced-stress" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The first week of the Tokyo Olympics has already produced some incredible athletic performances — Maggie Mac Neil <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/aquatics/swimming/olympics-swimming-day-3-finals-heroux-1.6116932">won a gold medal for Canada</a> in the 100-metre butterfly and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/article-canadas-catherine-beauchemin-pinard-wins-canadas-second-judo-bronze/">Canadian women have made the medal podium for the first time in judo</a> — at a competition that has presented unprecedented challenges for all Olympians.</p>
<p>Much has been made about the lack of spectators at these pandemic Olympics, as well as the dangers of putting thousands of athletes together in close proximity while Tokyo is under a state of emergency because of COVID-19 transmission concerns. But there have been other challenges facing the athletes that may not be apparent.</p>
<p>As someone who competed at the 1984 Summer Games, I understand the preparation that’s needed to make it to the Olympics — and the pressure to perform once you get there. But what makes these Olympics more remarkable is the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on athletes over the last 18 months — not just on their physical training, but their mental well-being as well.</p>
<h2>Anxiety and uncertainty</h2>
<p>The sense of uncertainty and the unforeseeable future because of the pandemic has contributed to significant psychological distress in athletes. <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/a327df7798a0b17e5ccda2433b703fb9/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=27519">Elite athletes reported</a> uncertainty about their future, decreased income, modified university teaching procedures, unavailable facilities and cancelled competition as the leading psychological stressors.</p>
<p>Clarisse Agbegnenou of France, a silver medallist in judo at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, <a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/how-has-covid-19-affected-the-mental-health-of-athletes">told Eurosport</a>: “The uncertainty about when we will be able to train and compete is very difficult to handle….I like to schedule things in advance. Being in the fog really turned me down.” In the same article, sport psychologist Makis Chamalidis said the combination of social isolation and anxiety led to feelings of withdrawal and depression in athletes.</p>
<p>A report by <a href="https://www.fifpro.org/en/health/coronavirus-covid-19-page/coronavirus-shutdown-sharp-rise-in-players-reporting-depression-symptoms">FIFPro, the organization that represents 65,000 professional footballers</a>, found that anxiety and depressive symptoms in footballers had doubled since the beginning of the pandemic in December 2020. The leading contributing factor was worry over one’s future in football. </p>
<p>Other factors, like being housebound with minimal training equipment, having no time frame for returning to their sport and social isolation, resulted in many athletes expressing their anxiety and stress online and in interviews.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard raises her right fist in victory while her opponent is on the mat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard, right, of Canada reacts after defeating Anriquelis Barrios of Venezuela to win the bronze medal in the women’s judo 63kg competition at the Tokyo Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7201218/">increased emotional distress</a> has been correlated with the lack of communication and support from coaches, fans, media and others. In fact, during the pandemic, sports psychologists reported increased demands for online counselling, in addition to increased diagnoses of psychological disorders among athletes.</p>
<h2>Time is crucial to athletes’ careers</h2>
<p>The postponement or cancellation of seasons and qualifying events <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1941738120918876">resulted in</a> “significant grief, stress, anxiety, and sadness” in athletes. </p>
<p>Sport’Aide, a <a href="https://sportaide.ca/en/home/">non-profit organization</a> aiming to eliminate violence and abuse in sports that affect young athletes, notes that time is crucial to athletes’ careers. The majority only compete in one Olympic Games and it’s highly unlikely for athletes to compete past the age of 40. The postponement of the Olympic Games can have <a href="https://sportaide.ca/en/blog/2020/03/27/little-known-consequences-of-covid-19-on-athletes/">dire consequences</a> for athletes given the limited longevity of an athlete’s career.</p>
<p><a href="https://sportaide.ca/en/blog/2020/03/27/little-known-consequences-of-covid-19-on-athletes/">Sport’Aide found</a>) that the sudden free time, isolation and increased levels of inactivity, in addition to the feelings of disappointment and uncertainty regarding the postponement of the Games, caused anxiety, psychological distress and depressive symptoms in athletes.</p>
<p>The athletes attributed the lack of physical activity during quarantine as the main reason for the decline in mental well-being. Furthermore, since Olympic athletes spend the majority of the time training, the decrease in physical activity may have led to a deficit in dopamine and endorphins, resulting in diminished feelings of pleasure and happiness.</p>
<h2>Coping mechanisms</h2>
<p>Each athlete responded to the pandemic differently, determined mostly by each individual’s resilience and coping methods.</p>
<p>Initially, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1612197X.2020.1754616">it was found</a> that mental-health professionals working with athletes encouraged them to seek support from family and friends. Doing so improved things such as healthy living, eating, sleeping and reflective thinking. </p>
<p>After the official postponement of the Olympic Games, as athletes felt that all their hard work and planning became uncertain, recommendations changed to encourage athletes to work on strengthening their existing weaknesses.</p>
<p>Interventions such as mindfulness, goal-setting and reframing were encouraged through video and teleconsulting means. However, not all athletes could make use of these suggestions because some didn’t have the necessary support. As a result, some athletes became inactive and directionless and suffered from substantial psychological stress.</p>
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<img alt="Two divers are about to enter the water simultaneously." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Jennifer Abel and Melissa Citrini Beaulieu of Canada compete during their silver medal performance in women’s synchronized 3-metre springboard diving at the Tokyo Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)</span></span>
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<p>One study found that <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/22/8385">social media can promote wellness</a> by spreading positive messages, encouraging healthy behaviours at home and encouraging athletes to connect with family, friends and coaches virtually. But there are also downsides. In particular, there has been a lot of negative news coverage of the pandemic, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7219846/">resulting in negative emotions</a>, poor sleep and mental distress. </p>
<h2>Finances and funding</h2>
<p>Olympic athletes train non-stop for four years before competing in the Olympic Games. Usually, athletes split up their funding over those four years, but the postponement of the Tokyo Games put many athletes <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/the-price-of-delaying-the-olympic-dream-the-cost-of-wildfires-and-why-we-re-hoarding-cash-1.5661507/olympics-delayed-means-finances-frayed-for-many-athletes-1.5661556">in a difficult financial situation</a>, resulting in many of them being short one year of funding. </p>
<p>It’s a common misconception that Olympic athletes are financially well off. The truth is that <a href="http://vocatio.com/2018/02/21/the-olympics-is-a-side-gig-these-olympians-have-day-jobs/">most Olympians do not have sufficient financial support</a> and find themselves working side jobs.</p>
<p>So as we all continue to watch and cheer for those competing in Tokyo, keep in mind what these athletes have had to endure over the last 18 months just to make it to these unique Olympic Games.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163623/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angela Schneider receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>The past 18 months have tested the mental and physical limits of Olympic athletes in their pursuit of the Tokyo Games. That’s what makes the performances during these Olympics even more remarkable.Angela Schneider, Director, The International Centre for Olympic Studies, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1629512021-07-23T15:31:28Z2021-07-23T15:31:28ZTokyo Olympics: winning could become about managing COVID stress<p>Olympism, the 19th-century philosophy of the modern Olympic Games, can be <a href="https://olympians.org/woa/olympism/">summed up</a> as making the world better through sport. At its heart lie three values: excellence, friendship and respect. While encouraging people to be the best they can be is an obvious feature, friendship is touted as “<a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/olympic-values">unique</a>” to the Olympics compared to other sporting events. </p>
<p>Previous Olympics have seen athletes from diverse nations joining together in a spirit of celebration and camaraderie. Tales of <a href="https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/olympic-village-party-stories">Olympic Village</a> festivities are usually the norm.</p>
<p>Tokyo 2020 is <a href="https://theconversation.com/tokyo-2021-how-covid-risks-taking-the-fun-out-of-the-games-163307">unlikely</a> to afford participants the same experience. As Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/17/ioc-president-promises-safe-olympics-despite-athletes-village-covid-case?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">has put it</a>, this will be “the most restrictive sporting event in the world”. </p>
<p>As sporting events during the pandemic have included few or no spectators, televised sport has increased. But the entertainment value of these competitions should not obscure the perspective of the athletes themselves. The <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33535229/">significant disruptions</a> to their mental health and performance due to COVID restrictions is well documented.</p>
<h2>Athletes as people</h2>
<p>Athletes, the IOC <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/athletes">states</a>, are “the central actors” in the Olympic Games. “They are the role models who inspire millions of children around the world to participate in sport and reflect the Olympic ideals.”</p>
<p>The decision to press ahead with the Games despite rising cases in Japan and beyond has put athletes in a difficult position. Morally they may even question whether they should take part, when over <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/world/asia/covid-japan-olympics-poll.html">80% of the Japanese public</a> are not in favour of the Games taking place. </p>
<p>Competing in an Olympiad is often the high point in an athlete’s career, something that they have dreamed about and worked towards for all of their life. These dreams would see them celebrating with teammates as friends and family watch on. </p>
<p>Athletes also speak of “<a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/2020/05/31/sports-return-without-fans-how-athletes-react/5274410002/">doing it for the fans</a>”. Yet, Tokyo’s current state of emergency has seen spectators banned entirely. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/as-the-nba-and-mlb-resume-how-might-empty-seats-influence-player-performances-140129">Research has shown</a> that empty stadiums can impact performance in some sports, particularly for athletes from <a href="https://theconversation.com/tokyo-olympics-without-crowds-will-the-home-nations-medal-chances-suffer-164267">host nations</a>. It remains to be seen whether Olympians will value their experience competing in front of empty stands and whether the eyes of the world through television broadcasting will afford the same connection. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-watch-or-not-to-watch-the-tokyo-games-raises-difficult-questions-for-fans-164712">To watch or not to watch? The Tokyo Games raises difficult questions for fans</a>
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<h2>New anxieties</h2>
<p>Bach has promised that the Tokyo Games will be “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/14/thomas-bach-promises-safe-and-secure-olympics-as-tokyo-covid-cases-soar?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">safe and secure</a>”. But the <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/world/covid-delta-variant-detected-in-96-countries-says-who-11625114221112.html">dominant</a> and highly transmissable delta variant is seeing higher hospital admission rates. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/olympics-global-interest-tokyo-games-muted-ipsos-poll-2021-07-14/">cluster</a> of COVID cases at a Japanese hotel hosting members of the Brazilian Olympic team in mid July 2021 highlighted the risks to participants. Members of Team GB, too, were forced to isolate after coming into contact with someone with COVID <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/tokyo-2020-athletes-at-olympic-village-forced-to-isolate-after-testing-positive-for-covid-12358181">on their flight</a> to Tokyo. As of July 21, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/57556978">91 COVID cases</a> linked to the Olympics had been recorded, with numbers rising daily.</p>
<p>Anyone flaunting <a href="https://fortune.com/2021/06/18/tokyo-olympics-covid-athletes-training-testing-vaccine/">strict COVID rules</a> (including quarantine on arrival and frequent testing) could <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/15/tokyo-covid-rule-breakers-risk-losing-olympic-and-paralympic-medals">face deportation</a>. Such measures, while essential, are in marked contrast to the environment athletes will have experienced at previous games. </p>
<p>National Olympic committees have attempted to minimise the level of risk to athletes <a href="https://www.skysports.com/olympics/news/15234/12313076/olympics-team-gb-and-paralympicsgb-athletes-plus-support-staff-will-be-vaccinated-before-departure-for-tokyo">with COVID vaccines</a>. Some however have refused on the grounds that potential side-effects might impact on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/25/some-gb-olympic-athletes-still-refusing-to-have-covid-vaccine-boa-claims-athletics">their training programmes</a>. </p>
<p>As athletes have tested positive or come into contact with others who are, even while in supposedly secure environments, some nations are now withdrawing from major sporting events due to concerns over “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/57925720">player welfare and safety</a>”. These decisions have, in turn, been criticised as hasty or made <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-league/rugby-league-world-cup-australia-new-zealand-b1889073.html">without consulting</a> the concerned athletes. This demonstrates the complexity posed by COVID-19 and its effect on the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1012690218791139">freedom of athletes</a> to choose whether to compete or not.</p>
<p>Part of being an elite athlete, of course, is the ability to <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429295874-13/stress-related-growth-resilience-david-fletcher">respond to adverse circumstances</a>. Success is often linked to the ability to <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-rowing-across-the-atlantic-can-teach-you-about-navigating-the-working-world-118025">negotiate and overcome</a> challenges.
These are nonetheless unprecedented fears for athletes and sources of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/57925491">new anxieties</a>.</p>
<h2>Bubble Life</h2>
<p>Elite sport is already a highly pressurised and stressful environment. Living in the secure biosafe bubbles, that have become the new normal at events around the world, has proven to be an additional stress and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/57848922">detrimental</a> to athletes’ mental health.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-why-self-isolation-brings-mental-health-strain-for-elite-athletes-135273">Coronavirus: why self-isolation brings mental health strain for elite athletes</a>
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<p>Athlete mental health and welfare is increasingly being recognised as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1612197X.2019.1570473">key to performance</a>. Some <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mental-health-specialists-will-monitor-team-gb-athletes-in-tokyo-zrckf3hvw">national sporting bodies</a> are providing specialist support to athletes during Tokyo 2020. </p>
<p>Team GB has been recognised as leading the way in prioritising mental health, putting in place a support team of psychologists and specialists. The British Athletes Commission has also put in place a 24-hour hotline for athletes to <a href="https://www.skysports.com/olympics/news/15234/12355411/tokyo-2020-olympics-team-gb-athletes-to-receive-help-with-online-abuse-during-games">report</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02614367.2016.1216581">manage the impact</a> of any abuse they may recieve during the games. However, such services certainly will not be available to every nation’s team. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/adoration-and-abuse-how-virtual-maltreatment-harms-athletes-40389">Adoration and abuse: how virtual maltreatment harms athletes</a>
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<p>For Australian basketball player Liz Cambage, the thought of a bubble Olympics, without the support of family, friends and fans was “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/57860434">terrifying</a>”. She subsequently withdrew from the Games. </p>
<p>Team USA Paralympic swimmer Becca Meyers, meanwhile, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/57902661">has withdrawn</a> from the Paralympic Games due to restrictions that prevent her own carer from accompanying her. Tokyo would have been her third Olympiad. This shows that, clearly, COVID restrictions are not providing an equitable or safe games for all athletes.</p>
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<p>The athletes competing in Tokyo have taken five years to get there. They now aspire to perform while navigating not only established performance-related stresses, but also new anxieties. Medals in 2021 have the potential to be won or lost by those who can best manage the demands of competing during a global pandemic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162951/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Competing in the Olympics is a career high. Excelling at these Games however will preclude much opportunity for friendship and connection and demand more than sporting excellenceKeith Parry, Deputy Head Of Department in Department of Sport & Events Management, Bournemouth UniversityEmma Kavanagh, Senior Lecturer in Sports Psychology and Coaching Sciences, Bournemouth UniversityEric Anderson, Professor of Masculinities, Sexualities and Sport, University of WinchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1645582021-07-22T20:07:16Z2021-07-22T20:07:16ZThe Olympic movement claims political neutrality. In reality, that ideal is often selectively applied<p>More than 200 nations are represented at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics. As ever, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) asserts the games are a means of unifying humanity through elite sport. At the same time, though, IOC president <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/sport-and-politics-my-experiences-as-an-athlete/">Thomas Bach concedes</a>:</p>
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<p>The Olympic Games cannot prevent wars and conflicts. </p>
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<p>Instead, he says, the games are unifying by way of symbolism: </p>
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<p>[…] they can set an example for a world where everyone respects the same rules and one another.</p>
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<p>The inference here is that the Olympics, with a rule-based platform for nations and athletes to come together respectfully and cohesively, provide an opportunity for dialogue and friendship that resonates beyond sport.</p>
<p>The confluence of nations at the Olympics also underscores the IOC’s much-vaunted position that the games must be <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/president-bach-the-ioc-s-political-neutrality-and-the-korean-peninsula">politically neutral</a>. Indeed, as a practical demonstration of that aspiration, both the IOC and the United Nations promulgate the goal of an <a href="https://gtimg.tokyo2020.org/image/upload/production/gpoufrzpdiqld5hhyxuu.pdf">Olympic Truce</a> for a period of seven days before the Olympics until seven days after the Paralympics.</p>
<p>Thus, there is an expectation that UN member states will “<a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/united-nations-adopts-tokyo-2020-olympic-truce-resolution">cease hostilities</a>”, ostensibly to protect athletes competing at the Tokyo games.</p>
<p>However, that anti-political idealism is confounded by a sobering reality: nations and athletes come together to compete at the Olympics, but they can hardly leave behind a range of tensions and conflicts in global geopolitics. </p>
<p>Indeed, beneath the hubris of Olympic evangelism, the realpolitik of corruption, conflict, domination or genocide permeate numerous countries that are an integral part of the so-called “Olympic family”. Among them, Myanmar and Iran provide compelling examples.</p>
<h2>Myanmar</h2>
<p>The Facebook site of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nocmya.naypyitaw/">Myanmar Olympic Committee</a> highlights an invitation to athletes at Tokyo to sign the Olympic Truce Mural. However, this hardly seems a straightforward matter for the <a href="https://www.gnlm.com.mm/three-myanmar-athletes-qualify-for-tokyo-olympics/amp/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_ede11f97dc85d13432f4b107f56855f9afec7e0a-1626767599-0-gqNtZGzNAo2jcnBszQhO">three qualified athletes</a> from Myanmar.</p>
<p>Back home, the country’s military dictatorship has shown <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/23/myanmar-is-still-committing-genocide-against-rohingya-says-rights-group">genocidal intent</a> against the (largely) Muslim Rohingya community, while <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/myanmar-anti-coup-activists-protest-us-seeks-regional-action-2021-07-14/">Myanmar’s armed forces</a>, reacting against pro-democracy activists, have reportedly “killed more than 900 people since the coup and detained thousands”.</p>
<p>The IOC, meanwhile, will welcome to Tokyo 2021 Myanmar’s deputy minister for health and sports, <a href="https://www.gnlm.com.mm/three-myanmar-athletes-qualify-for-tokyo-olympics/amp/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_ede11f97dc85d13432f4b107f56855f9afec7e0a-1626767599-0-gqNtZGzNAo2jcnBszQhO">U Myo Hlaing</a>, thereby providing sanction to the country’s repressive regime.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-the-un-has-found-myanmars-military-committed-genocide-against-the-rohingya-102251">Explainer: why the UN has found Myanmar’s military committed genocide against the Rohingya</a>
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<p>For Win Htet Oo, an expatriate swimmer living in Melbourne with his family from Myanmar, the hypocrisy of representing a country that is wantonly killing its own people proved too much to bear. Win Htet initially wrote to the IOC with a request that he be allowed to swim as a “<a href="https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3132303/tokyo-2020-myanmar-swimmer-win-htet-oo-abandons-olympic-dream">neutral athlete</a>”, independent of any country. </p>
<p>But this was denied, presumably because he was not a refugee. The “politically neutral” IOC was not about to allow a citizen-athlete to claim neutrality from their country. Unable to disassociate himself from a murderous regime, Win Htet <a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/04/85f956592756-myanmar-swimmer-to-forgo-tokyo-olympics-in-protest-at-junta-violence.html">withdrew from selection</a> for the Tokyo games, declaring: “I shall not march in the parade of nations under a flag steeped in my people’s blood.”</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412574/original/file-20210722-13-8hb6af.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412574/original/file-20210722-13-8hb6af.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412574/original/file-20210722-13-8hb6af.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412574/original/file-20210722-13-8hb6af.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412574/original/file-20210722-13-8hb6af.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412574/original/file-20210722-13-8hb6af.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412574/original/file-20210722-13-8hb6af.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rohingya refugees at the border of Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nyein Chan Naing/EPA/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By contrast, Thet Htar Thuzar, a badminton player, is committed to representing Myanmar at the Tokyo Olympics. In a <a href="https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14394109">social media post</a>, she wrote that her “long-cherished dream has come true”. Thet Htar was not merely self-absorbed: she hoped to “make her compatriots smile even for just a moment amid the hardships they are facing”. </p>
<p>However, many <a href="https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14394109">respondents on social media</a> were unimpressed, seeing “participation in the games by local athletes as a gesture of subservience to the Myanmar military”.</p>
<p>Unlike Win Htet, though, Thet Htar and her family live in Myanmar under a dictatorship. With the military regime talking up her role in the Olympics, she may have been in no position to talk it down.</p>
<h2>Iran</h2>
<p>Wrestling is a sport in which Iranians have performed extremely well. The country’s official news agency reports that <a href="https://en.irna.ir/news/84402117/Six-Iranian-freestyle-wrestlers-to-compete-in-Tokyo-Olympics">six wrestlers</a> will represent the republic at Tokyo 2021. </p>
<p>However, champion Greco-Roman wrestler <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54129949">Navid Afkari</a> cannot be among them. In September 2020, he was executed by the Iranian government. The execution was widely seen by critics as <a href="https://irannewswire.org/navid-afkaris-brutal-execution-will-have-repercussions-for-iran-regime/">retribution</a> for Navid’s high-profile participation in mass protests against an oppressively authoritarian regime.</p>
<p>The IOC was deeply disappointed that its <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/wrestling/54099514">diplomatic representations</a> to the Iranian government, seeking clemency for Navid, were ignored. Capital punishment is, of course, part of state power in many countries that take part in the Olympics. But critics contended that Navid’s <a href="https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2020/09/execution-of-navid-afkari-irans-judiciary-is-a-tool-of-political-repression-and-violence-and-a-threat-to-the-people/">trial was a sham</a>. For them, this punishment amounted to a political execution.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412576/original/file-20210722-27-rh0k4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412576/original/file-20210722-27-rh0k4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412576/original/file-20210722-27-rh0k4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412576/original/file-20210722-27-rh0k4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412576/original/file-20210722-27-rh0k4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412576/original/file-20210722-27-rh0k4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412576/original/file-20210722-27-rh0k4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Champion Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari had hoped to compete in Tokyo. However, he was executed in September 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/EPA/NWRI handout</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Navid had aspired to be at the Tokyo Olympics. Exiled Iranian <a href="https://www.trtworld.com/life/self-exiled-iranian-athletes-seek-a-ban-on-iran-from-entering-the-olympics-48498">activists</a> argued that, in the wake of this athlete’s execution, the IOC should ban their country from the 2021 games. </p>
<p>Yet this did not happen. Discussing the case, the IOC vice president, John Coates, personified the IOC’s naïveté when <a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1098447/navid-afkari-execution-olympic-ban-iran">he noted</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The difficulty for us is this execution didn’t relate to a sporting event. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, he pointed out that when Iranian athletes refused to compete against Israeli athletes, a suspension ensued. In terms of Navid, though, Coates sat firmly on the IOC’s neutrality fence: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’ve been getting two sides to the story as to whether he got a fair go or didn’t get a fair go. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Gaming the Olympics</h2>
<p>Although the Olympic Truce is a public relations metaphor rather than a declaration with practical salience, the games environment may inadvertently provide safe haven opportunities for athletes from countries with repressive political regimes. </p>
<p>The best-known example of this was the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, which featured the <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/ypy3k5/defections-hungary-at-the-melbourne-olympics-1956">defection</a> of some 55 Hungarian athletes to the West in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Hungary. However, <a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/31434/brief-history-olympic-defectors">political asylum at the Olympics</a> is relatively uncommon and, in the context of the Tokyo games, unlikely. The Japanese government has no appetite for <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/japans-changing-immigration-and-refugee-policy/">political refugees</a>, with long-term detention the norm.</p>
<p>The IOC, meanwhile, has conceived its own safe haven for a small number of Olympic athletes who have fled conflict and assumed the status of refugees. The <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/refugee-olympic-team">IOC Refugee Olympic Team</a>, which began at the Rio Olympics of 2016, has now been selected for Tokyo. It features <a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/ioc-refugee-olympic-team-announced-tokyo-2020">29 athletes</a>, of whom four are originally from Iran. The best known of the Iranians is taekwondo star <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/taekwondo/51090585">Kimia Alizadeh</a>, who absconded during athletic competition in Europe. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-olympics-have-always-been-a-platform-for-protest-banning-hand-gestures-and-kneeling-ignores-their-history-129694">The Olympics have always been a platform for protest. Banning hand gestures and kneeling ignores their history</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Notwithstanding the IOC’s commitment to “political neutrality”, Kimia’s claims of oppression by the Iran regime are manifest in their profile of her as a “<a href="https://olympics.com/en/featured-news/kimia-alizadeh-refugee-olympian-fighting-for-equality">refugee Olympian</a>. So, in a decidedly political pivot, the IOC welcomes Iran to the Tokyo Olympics, along with four Iranian athletes who fled to seek political asylum.</p>
<p>Notwithstanding the Olympic ideals of friendly dialogue during the games, the schism between political refugees and their original countries is hardly going to evaporate. </p>
<p>More generally, the IOC’s selectively applied position of political neutrality is certain to provide ongoing consternation given that the world’s most repressive regimes are welcomed into the Olympic family. Arguably, the IOC’s apolitical position actually emboldens dictatorships and human rights abuses. It offers no consequences except in the case of athletes prevented from playing sport.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164558/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daryl Adair does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The IOC welcomes repressive regimes to the Olympic games. This means athletes from those countries are often placed in an invidious posiiton.Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1642172021-07-22T18:20:19Z2021-07-22T18:20:19ZIn the wake of Indian Residential School findings, how can we cheer for Canada at the Olympics?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412870/original/file-20210723-19-nhxjqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C3544%2C2344&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Team Canada flag-bearers Miranda Ayim and Nathan Hirayama carry the Canadian flag at the opening ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Olympics offer Canadians an opportunity to experience a collective sense of national unity and pride. But in the wake of discoveries of <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-saskatchewan-first-nation-discovers-hundreds-of-unmarked-graves-at/">thousands of unmarked graves</a> at former Indian Residential Schools across the country, this year’s Olympics will feel undeniably different for many Canadians. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/amid-more-shocking-residential-schools-discoveries-non-indigenous-people-must-take-action-161965">Amid more shocking residential schools discoveries, non-Indigenous people must take action</a>
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</em>
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<p>Canadians will watch the Tokyo Games on television less than a month after <a href="https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/shame-on-canada-thousands-attend-cancel-canada-day-rally-on-parliament-hill-1.5493234">many participated</a> in “Cancel Canada Day” rallies and protesters tore down statues of colonial figures in <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/renewed-calls-to-cancel-canada-day-in-wake-of-residential-school-gravesite-discovery-1.5459568">Toronto</a>, <a href="https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/victoria-statue-of-captain-cook-pulled-down-thrown-into-harbour-1.5494067">Victoria</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57693683">Winnipeg.</a> </p>
<p>In the wake of all this, settlers such as myself must ask ourselves: How can we cheer for our country after all that’s been happening? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Headless statue lying on the ground covered in protest signs and red paint" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411106/original/file-20210713-15-1unwywy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411106/original/file-20210713-15-1unwywy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411106/original/file-20210713-15-1unwywy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411106/original/file-20210713-15-1unwywy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411106/original/file-20210713-15-1unwywy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411106/original/file-20210713-15-1unwywy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411106/original/file-20210713-15-1unwywy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A statue of Queen Victoria in Winnipeg was overturned and vandalized on Canada Day during demonstrations concerning Indigenous children who died at residential schools.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Geraldine Malone)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Audiences should use the Tokyo Games to confront the <a href="https://theconversation.com/not-in-the-past-colonialism-is-rooted-in-the-present-157395">history and persistence of colonialism in Canada</a>. Expressions of patriotism in Canada cannot be neatly separated from <a href="https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/society/article/download/34003/26078/">ongoing colonization and systemic racism</a>, except through feats of mental gymnastics.</p>
<p>Let’s leave the gymnastics to the athletes competing in Tokyo and, instead, pay attention to the displays of settler colonialism that will happen during the Games.</p>
<p>My research investigates how Canadian-hosted sporting events, like the Olympics, shape national identity. I am currently writing a book, <em>Commodifying the Nation: Sport, Commercialism and Settler Colonialism in Canada</em>. In it, I argue that settlers often avoid recognizing uncomfortable truths about the nation when they express their patriotism. These truths include the mistreatment and assimilation of Indigenous children in residential schools. </p>
<h2>Reminders of settler colonialism</h2>
<p>There is a tendency to focus on large, highly visible objects that represent Canada’s colonial identity, like the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/egerton-ryerson-statue-caledonia-land-back-lane-1.6059513">recently toppled statue of Egerton Ryerson</a>, who played a major role in the establishment of the residential school system in Canada. But this identity is also recalled in the various ways settler Canadians express their pride at international sporting events. </p>
<p>One reminder of colonialism will be embodied — literally — by Canadian athletes at the Games who will be wearing outfits designed by the <a href="https://olympic.ca/2020/08/10/team-canada-and-hudsons-bay-unveil-tokyo-2020-kit-2/">Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC)</a>, which has been the Canadian Olympic team’s <a href="http://www.hbcheritage.ca/history/social-history/hbc-and-sports">official outfitter</a> since 2013.</p>
<p>Besides Team Canada’s outfits being created by the company, its iconic “point blanket” logo featuring coloured stripes appears on the outfits, along with national symbols like the maple leaf.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Waist-up shot of two women wearing red zip-up jackets with CANADA spelled across the front." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411107/original/file-20210713-25-1yatwbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411107/original/file-20210713-25-1yatwbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411107/original/file-20210713-25-1yatwbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411107/original/file-20210713-25-1yatwbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411107/original/file-20210713-25-1yatwbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411107/original/file-20210713-25-1yatwbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411107/original/file-20210713-25-1yatwbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gymnast Ellie Black, left, and Brooklyn Moors wear their official Olympic jackets during an event presenting the Canadian Olympic Artistic Gymnastics team for the Tokyo 2020 games.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>HBC’s logo calls attention to its historical contributions to settler nation-building practices in Canada. Created by royal charter in 1670, King Charles II of England <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/history/EPCONTENTSE1EP6CH1PA5LE.html">gave HBC the authority</a> to trade and negotiate treaties with Indigenous groups and to defend territory from them.</p>
<p>Employees exchanged point blankets for beaver pelts supplied by Indigenous peoples, making them important items of the early fur trade. By conflating Team Canada’s outfits with HBC merchandise, this creates an association between the company and patriotic sentiments. It also contributes to the erasure of the nation’s history of colonialism. </p>
<p>Activists drew attention to this history in 2010 when Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics. They argued that Canadians who wore the HBC-produced Team Canada red and white mittens had “<a href="https://web.resist.ca/%7Etarsandsfreebc/downloads/hbc.pdf">blood on their hands</a>” and were “wearing Canada’s history of colonialism.” </p>
<p>The ubiquity of HBC-branded Olympic clothing can productively draw attention to the history activists called on audiences to recognize back in 2010. </p>
<h2>The present day</h2>
<p>It would be a mistake to think that only the past is being obscured in collective displays of patriotism. </p>
<p>The reality that settler colonialism persists in Canada is too easily disavowed in celebratory representations of the nation. Disavowal is a particular type of forgetting. It involves knowing facts but failing to recognize the full significance or meaning of such facts. </p>
<p>When we disavow the injustices occurring around us, we fail to stop them from continuing. The example of anti-Olympic activists who protested the 2010 Games is once again instructive. They made it impossible to completely disavow the fact that the Games were being held on unceded Indigenous territory that is not governed by treaty. </p>
<p>Presently, we must not forget that the Canadian government and institutions continue to engage in practices that disadvantage Indigenous peoples and infringe upon their rights, such as the federal government’s <a href="https://fncaringsociety.com/about-us">chronic under-funding of Indigenous child and family services</a> that’s led to an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/08/canada-indigenous-children-deaths-residential-schools">over-representation of Indigenous children</a> in the child welfare system and the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-its-all-too-common-for-indigenous-patients-to-face-racism-and-neglect/">sytemic racism</a> present in Canada’s health-care system. </p>
<h2>What to do while cheering on Team Canada</h2>
<p>I am not calling for settlers to wallow in guilt. Now is not the time to focus on how settlers feel. It is instead time to confront the reality of the consequences of residential schools and the <a href="https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/sixties_scoop/">‘60s Scoop.</a> </p>
<p>Land dispossession and systemic racism continue to exist and the historic mistreatment of Indigenous peoples is still ongoing.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-many-canadians-dont-seem-to-care-about-the-lasting-effects-of-residential-schools-161968">Why many Canadians don’t seem to care about the lasting effects of residential schools</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Canadians should start by holding our governments and institutions accountable, and encourage the implementation of the <a href="http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf">Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Michael Linklater stands for a photograph at a outdoor basketball court near his home in Saskatoon." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411375/original/file-20210715-21-835uvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411375/original/file-20210715-21-835uvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411375/original/file-20210715-21-835uvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411375/original/file-20210715-21-835uvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411375/original/file-20210715-21-835uvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411375/original/file-20210715-21-835uvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411375/original/file-20210715-21-835uvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No self-identified Indigenous athletes will be competing for Canada at the Tokyo Olympics. For years, Nehiyaw (Cree) athlete Michael Linklater of Saskatoon was one of the country’s top 3x3 basketball players. While 3x3 basketball is making its Olympic debut in Tokyo, Canada failed to qualify. Linklater will be a basketball analyst for CBC’s Olympic coverage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Calls 87-91 include telling the national story of Indigenous athletes and supporting Indigenous athletes’ development. </p>
<p>As settlers tune in to watch Canadian athletes compete in Tokyo this summer, they can seek out stories about Indigenous athleticism and leadership in sport because they won’t find any on their screens. No self-identified Indigenous athlete is <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/indigenous-athletes-barriers-olympics-1.6061509">competing for Canada this year</a>.</p>
<p>As you wear your red and white and cheer for Canada from the comfort of your home, remember the history this patriotism was built on — and the ongoing colonialism that helps solidify it.</p>
<p><em>If you are an Indian Residential School survivor, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Estee Fresco does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How can settler-Canadians cheer for their country at the Tokyo Olympics after the recent discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves of children who attended Indian Residential Schools?Estee Fresco, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1648822021-07-22T10:30:55Z2021-07-22T10:30:55ZTokyo Olympics: what are the limits of human performance? Podcast<p>Are there limits to how much faster, higher or stronger an athlete can get? In this episode of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly</a> podcast, we talk to researchers in biomechanics, sports technology and psychology, to find out. And we hear about what happened at the troubled 1920 Antwerp Olympics, held in the wake of the first world war and the Spanish flu pandemic. </p>
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<p>There’s something incredible about watching an athlete break a world record. They peak at exactly the right moment to go faster or further than anyone else ever has in their sport. But how long will records keep tumbling for? How will we know when we’ve reached the peak of what the human body can do? </p>
<p>We asked Anthony Blazevich, professor of biomechanics at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia. While he admits there are physical limits to how fast a cyclist or a sprinter can go, he says we’re not there yet: “I think we’re decades away from the very greatest athletes that we will ever see on Earth.” He explains why, as well as how a person’s genes influence their athletic performance. </p>
<p>Technological innovation is likely to play a role in breaking records too, particularly when it comes to running. The advent of <a href="https://theconversation.com/super-shoes-explaining-athletics-new-technological-arms-race-156265">super shoes</a>, pioneered by Nike, has seen world records broken across long-distance running events since 2017. Jonathan Taylor, a former professional runner and now a lecturer in sport and exercise at Teesside University in the UK, says: “On the roads, half-marathon and marathon world records have all been broken since 2017.” Taylor explains the science behind the super shoes and the regulations surrounding them, and what other tech could help improve running times even further. </p>
<p>But someone could have the perfect sprinter’s body, the perfect training schedule, and the latest super shoe, but if their head isn’t in the right place on the big day, none of that other stuff matters. </p>
<p>Nicole Forrester, a former Canadian Olympic high jumper, and now an assistant professor in the school of media at Ryerson University in Toronto, explains <a href="https://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/429">her research</a> into why psychology – and confidence in particular – is key for an athlete to go from being good, to being great. “At the elite level, it’s impossible for an athlete to be a gold medallist in whatever discipline, without having without confidence,” she tells us. </p>
<p>A little note, we are not focusing on drugs in this episode, but you can read more analysis about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/doping-3213">role of doping in sports here</a>. </p>
<p>In our second story (33 minutes), we <a href="https://theconversation.com/sardines-for-breakfast-hypothermia-rescues-the-story-of-the-cash-strapped-post-pandemic-1920-olympics-162246">revisit the 1920 Antwerp Olympics</a> held just after a fourth wave of the deadly Spanish flu pandemic. The first world war caused the cancellation of the 1916 games, scheduled to take place in Berlin. But soon after the armistice, the aristocratic members of the International Olympic Committee, including its founder, the French baron Pierre de Coubertin, were determined to push ahead with the 1920 games. </p>
<p>They chose Belgium, a country hit hard by the war, as host. Keith Rathbone, a senior lecturer in modern European history and sports history at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, tells us what happened – and the parallels he sees with the Tokyo Olympics. </p>
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<p>And Thabo Leshilo, politics editor at The Conversation in Johannesburg, recommends some analysis on the recent unrest in South Africa following the imprisonment of former president, Jacob Zuma (43m45). </p>
<p>This episode of The Conversation Weekly was produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can find us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/?hl=en">theconversationdotcom</a>. or via email on podcast@theconversation.com. You can also sign up to <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter?utm_campaign=PodcastTCWeekly&utm_content=newsletter&utm_source=podcast">The Conversation’s free daily email here</a>.</p>
<p>News clips in this episode are from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol9fiOAditk">World Athletics</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY3Rj6iiSQM">CBS News</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoxFkJlVZlA">INEOS 1:59 Challenge</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05B2T3ot204">BBC News</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42or2Atfyzo">DW News</a>. </p>
<p><em>You can listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a>, or find out how else to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">listen here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164882/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Plus, the troubled 1920 Antwerp Olympics and the parallels they have for Tokyo. Listen to The Conversation Weekly.Gemma Ware, Head of AudioDaniel Merino, Associate Breaking News Editor and Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly PodcastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1642912021-07-21T11:50:51Z2021-07-21T11:50:51ZThe WHO and the IOC are playing with lives at state-of-emergency Tokyo Olympics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411719/original/file-20210716-13-jcmr7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5389%2C3589&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A station passageway is crowded with commuters wearing face masks during rush hour at Shinagawa Station. A recent survey suggests that 83 per cent of Japanese citizens don’t want the Olympics to proceed as scheduled, fearing a surge in case numbers. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bianca Andreescu, Canada’s celebrated tennis star, recently announced she <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/tennis/bianca-andreescu-withdraws-from-canadas-olympic-tennis-team-citing-pandemic-1.6099768">would not attend</a> the Tokyo Olympic Games due to the health risks posed by COVID-19. </p>
<p>It’s hard to argue against such a decision. Cases are surging and only <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/most-japanese-medical-workers-not-fully-vaccinated-as-olympics-looms.html">30 per cent</a> of health-care workers in Japan are vaccinated. Only <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations">one quarter</a> of the global population has received at least one vaccine dose. Travellers from Canada and 158 other countries are banned from entering Japan, except under <a href="https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html#section1">“exceptional circumstances.”</a></p>
<p>Had she chosen to do so, Andreescu, as well as thousands of other foreign nationals, could have been admitted to Japan for the Games. Indeed, athletes will account for about 15,400 entries alone. When coaches and support staff are added to the equation, the figure will rise considerably higher. </p>
<p>Japanese nurses and physicians are understandably <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/tokyo-olympics-osaka-hospitals-buckling-1.6038450">sounding the alarm</a>, informing Olympic officials that the health-care system lacks the resources to effectively protect the people of Japan and cater to Olympians and their teams.</p>
<p>Despite the rising rate of infection in Japan, the World Health Organization has merely <a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1109736/who-call-for-caution-olympics-covid">urged those attending</a> the Olympics to exercise “caution.”</p>
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<img alt="A sign that says 'COVID-19 countermeasures' across the top is framed between two men." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A sign for COVID-19 countermeasures at the Main Press Centre for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)</span></span>
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<h2>A longstanding history</h2>
<p>The WHO has a long-standing relationship with the IOC, stretching back to a memorandum of understanding signed in 1984. The WHO’s advisory role in Olympic safety, however, has come under attack in recent years. </p>
<p>When the Zika virus ravaged Brazil leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympics, a group of 150 physicians and academics wrote an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2016/05/Zika-Olympics-Open-Letter-to-WHO-current2.pdf?itid=lk_inline_manual_17">open letter</a> urging the WHO to hold transparent discussions about the risk of Zika transmission at the Games. The letter suggested the WHO’s close relationship with the IOC was preventing it from making a neutral assessment of the risks posed by Zika. </p>
<p>The 2016 Rio Olympics, of course, went ahead. The WHO was correct. The event was safe. Transmission of the Zika virus, at least to visitors, was seemingly non-existent.</p>
<p>The nature of this relationship between the WHO and IOC has evolved over time. A <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/07-01-2011-who-and-the-international-olympic-committee-sign-agreement-to-improve-healthy-lifestyles">2010 memorandum of understanding</a> emphasized a partnership “to promote healthy lifestyle choices, including physical activity, sports for all, tobacco-free Olympic Games and the prevention of childhood obesity.” The focus was on noncommunicable diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. </p>
<p>This memorandum expired before the 2016 Rio Olympics, but the WHO committed itself to a careful and thorough assessment of health risks associated with that event, illustrating that — with or without a formal agreement — it was committed to protecting the physical well-being of the citizens of Brazil and the rest of the attendees.</p>
<h2>The stakes are higher than ever</h2>
<p>Something feels very different this year. For one, the stakes are considerably higher for the IOC, the WHO and the people of Japan.</p>
<p>Although COVID-19 has led the Tokyo Organizing Committee to largely bar spectators from stadiums, the event is going forward despite significant resistance from Japanese citizens and a low national rate of vaccination. </p>
<p>A recent survey suggests that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/world/asia/covid-japan-olympics-poll.html">83 per cent of Japanese citizens</a> don’t want the Olympics to proceed as scheduled, fearing a surge in case numbers. </p>
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<img alt="Protester holding a sign that says 'Olympics kill the poor.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">People against Olympic Games protest near Komazawa Olympic Park, where the unveiling ceremony for the Olympic Flame torch relay was held on July 9 in Tokyo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)</span></span>
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<p>The fact that the IOC stands to reap a <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/162952/cancel-tokyo-games-abolish-olympics">tremendous financial gain</a>, while Tokyo struggles to manage a state of emergency — unable to even generate ticket revenue to offset some of its investment in the Games — is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/11/holding-tokyo-olympics-amid-covid-pandemic-threat-is-about-corporate-revenue-not-athletes/">spurring accusations</a> that the Olympic powers are acting in the interest of money, not health, and sacrificing the well-being of the Japanese people on the altar of capitalism.</p>
<p>It certainly appears as though the IOC’s actions, and the WHO’s tacit support, are incompatible with the organizations’ most recent <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/ioc-and-who-strengthen-ties-to-advocate-healthy-lifestyles">2020 memorandum of understanding</a>. It’s unclear how forging ahead during a pandemic meets the shared commitment to “strengthen the health preparedness and legacy of the Olympic Games.” </p>
<h2>Health concerns go beyond the physical</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/-olympic-refuge-foundation-sport-can-offer-hope-to-displaced-communities-during-the-covid-19-pandemic">news release</a> last May regarding the agreement, IOC President Thomas Bach said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Over the last few months in the current crisis, we have all seen how important sport and physical activity are for physical and mental health. Sport can save lives.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The IOC used mental health, a relatively new concern for them, to double down on its collaboration with the WHO by pledging both organizations “to work on new projects addressing emerging issues such as mental health.” This newfound regard for mental health was notably absent in 2016, when both organizations celebrated the Olympics as a success despite a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/03/forced-evictions-vila-autodromo-rio-olympics-protests">well-documented assault on favela communities</a>, decimating the well-being of some of the city’s more vulnerable people. </p>
<p>If the WHO is correct that a high degree of caution, not outright cancellation, will be enough to prevent the spread of disease at the Olympics, the question of its commitment to mental health still remains. In Tokyo, as in so many past host nations, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2020/07/06/inside-troubling-legacy-displacing-poor-communities-olympic-games-one-villages-resistance-brazil/">residents are being displaced to make way for the Olympic Games</a>. </p>
<h2>Nothing short of lives are at stake</h2>
<p>The Japanese public’s massive call for cancellation is indicative of the anxiety already spurred by the Games. Realistically, if this is what a commitment to mental health looks like, can folks be blamed for believing this new component of the IOC/WHO partnership is just for optics?</p>
<p>One thing is perfectly clear — nothing short of people’s lives are at stake. No amount of money can justify a single preventable death. Furthermore, an Olympic super-spreader event, a widespread mental health emergency or a combination of the two could do further damage to the already tarnished reputations of both the IOC and WHO. </p>
<p>Make no mistake, the IOC could do a lot of good in the world, especially with the help of the WHO. Physical activity can be an important boon to mental and physical health. Yet, when the IOC and WHO support a global mega-event held during a pandemic, it’s difficult to believe that the well-being of the host nation remains a priority.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164291/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MacIntosh Ross does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Let’s make one thing perfectly clear — nothing short of people’s lives are at stake at the Tokyo Olympics. No amount of money can justify a single preventable death.MacIntosh Ross, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1638612021-07-20T13:05:58Z2021-07-20T13:05:58ZHow the COVID-19 delay of the Tokyo Olympics helped some athletes break records<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410648/original/file-20210709-23-akcrgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3880%2C2592&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This May, Olympian bronze medallist Damian Warner set three new Decathlon Bests in 100m, long jump, and 110m hurdles, earning a new Canadian record for overall points.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/David J. Phillip) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After an unprecedented delay due to a once-in-a-century global health crisis, the Tokyo Games are finally ready to begin. Yet the athletes, like the Games themselves, have changed. </p>
<p>The year of lockdowns, isolation, and the threat — or reality — of catching COVID-19 and losing friends and loved ones has been daunting for athletes. Some, willingly or not, retired early, while others recalibrated and kept going. </p>
<p>And some are thriving.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/athletes-mental-health-at-risk-in-lockdown-as-coronavirus-puts-training-and-olympics-on-hold-136216">Athletes’ mental health at risk in lockdown as coronavirus puts training and Olympics on hold</a>
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<p>Last year sports psychiatrist Carla Edwards and I wrote about how <a href="https://theconversation.com/athletes-mental-health-at-risk-in-lockdown-as-coronavirus-puts-training-and-olympics-on-hold-136216">athlete mental health was front and centre during the pandemic</a>. Athletes aren’t immune to COVID-19 and its effects. </p>
<p>For more than a few, however, the extra year has been a chance to demonstrate their creativity and inspire us with their resilience.</p>
<h2>Evidence of improvement</h2>
<p>We are starting to see evidence of maintenance or improvement in performance emerge in sport and exercise medicine research (in countries <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.623885/full">like Norway</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33621997/">Italy</a> and <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.666593/full">Spain</a>), and in the results as sport has resumed.</p>
<p>Despite the hardships, those of us in sport have noticed that the pandemic has provided many athletes the chance to recover, recharge and recommit. </p>
<p>Damian Warner, a Canadian track star and Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, had said he was disappointed <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/canada-s-damian-warner-wins-bronze-in-decathlon-at-worlds-1.4623200">with his results</a> at the 2019 world track and field championships after recovering from two sprained ankles. </p>
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<img alt="Man mid-run with his arms stretched out behind him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Damian Warner crosses the finish line to win the men’s 110-metre hurdles final on June 26 at the Canadian track and field Olympic trials in Montréal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)</span></span>
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<h2>The world stopped</h2>
<p>By early 2020, Warner was once again in the best shape of his life, but then the world stopped. As talk of Olympic postponement became reality, Warner rallied to his training, embracing what he could not change.</p>
<p>“I think I’ll just be a little bit healthier with one more year,” <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/tokyo-olympics-postponed-damian-warner-1.5526737">Warner told CBC</a> last April. “From last year to this year my discus and shot put improved… so if I take another year to continue to hone and continue to improve those skills, I think they can be even better next year.” </p>
<p><a href="https://olympic.ca/2021/05/30/damian-warner-wins-hypo-meeting-with-canadian-record/">In May</a>, he set three new decathlon bests in the 100 metres, long jump and 110-metre hurdles — earning a new Canadian record for overall points (8,995), the third highest of all time.</p>
<h2>Remarkable improvements</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/sports/olympics/pandemic-olympics-training.html">year ago</a>, the <em>New York Times</em> reported on the phenomenon of athletes thriving through lockdown.</p>
<p>Their list of examples included four Olympians and Olympic hopefuls who all showed remarkable improvements during the lockdowns precipitated by the pandemic’s first wave in the spring of 2020: 2016 American Olympic champion shot-putter Ryan Crouser; the 16-year-old aspiring U.S. Olympic swimmer Claire Curzon; American discus thrower Valarie Allman; and Ugandan Olympic middle distance runner Joshua Cheptegei.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Women throwing a discus" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Valarie Allman, seen competing in June, set the American women’s discus record with a throw of 70.15 metres last August, nearly three metres over her personal best.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the year since, all four have smashed national or world records in the lead up to what will surely be an Olympic Games for the ages.</p>
<p>The experience of these athletes has not been entirely unique. Rather than set performances back across the board, for a number of athletes at least, the pandemic has accelerated them — and in some cases reignited them. </p>
<h2>Nothing is impossible</h2>
<p>After four years of retirement, British rowing legend Helen Glover found herself in lockdown with three small children, a rowing machine and a desire to show her daughter that nothing is impossible.</p>
<p>A year later Glover <a href="https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/31597147/olympic-champion-helen-glover-qualifies-toyko-become-first-british-mother-row-games">made history</a> as the first British mother named to the British Olympic rowing squad. She will race in the women’s pairs, defending her two previous Olympic victories from the last in two Games in London and Rio. </p>
<p>“I have had quite a good change in perspective on things,” Glover said in an interview with <a href="https://worldrowing.com/2021/06/09/june-2021-helen-glover/"><em>World Rowing</em></a> when the international federation named her Rower of the Month in June.</p>
<p>“When I was rowing before, I was definitely quite outcome-orientated. Now I’m probably a bit more process-driven, which I think is actually quite a nice change. I feel like COVID has actually allowed me the opportunity to try doing it a different way.”</p>
<p>Fittingly, her new partner, Olympic silver medallist Polly Swann, is also returning to elite rowing after taking time away early in the pandemic to serve as a junior doctor in Britain’s national health service.</p>
<p>While athletic performances won’t bring an end to a pandemic that is far from over in most countries, their stories are glimmers of hope that shine in these dark times as examples of creativity and the resilience of the human spirit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163861/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Thornton is an Assistant Professor at Western University and Sport Medicine Physician at the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic. She receives funding as a Canada Research Chair in Injury Prevention and Physical Activity for Health as well as through internal research grants and AMOSO funding. She receives an honorarium as Editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.</span></em></p>Some Olympic athletes have thrived in the year-long delay leading up to the Tokyo Games, using the extra time off to improve their performance and shatter national records.Jane Thornton, Clinician Scientist, Canada Research Chair in Injury Prevention and Physical Activity for Health, Sport Medicine Physician, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1638622021-07-20T12:11:28Z2021-07-20T12:11:28ZThe Tokyo Olympics will be the Games of all mothers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411301/original/file-20210714-17-1rltfer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4880%2C3250&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">American sprinter Allyson Felix celebrates with her daughter Camryn after finishing second in the women's 400-metre race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on June 20.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ashley Landis) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In March, the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Organizing Committee <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/tokyo-2020-first-ever-gender-balanced-olympic-games-in-history-record-number-of-female-competitors-at-paralympic-games">announced that the Tokyo Games would be the “first gender-balanced Olympic Games in history.”</a> </p>
<p>The gender gap in sport is <a href="https://www.athleteassessments.com/gender-equality-debate/">well-established</a>. Men have historically dominated elite sport for centuries, but thanks in part to the advocacy of organizations like the IOC Women in Sport Commission, global female representation in sport is greater than ever. </p>
<p>Central to this movement is the increased visibility of elite female athletes competing and succeeding at the Olympic Games, inspiring future female Olympians across the globe. Yet, major barriers still remain, particularly those faced by athletes who are mothers.</p>
<h2>Breastfeeding at the Olympics</h2>
<p>Mothers have been competing at the Olympics since the Paris 1900 Games when women’s events <a href="https://olympics.com/en/athletes/margaret-ives-abbott">were first added</a>. But the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games have highlighted the barriers faced by mothers and mothers-to-be as they vie for coveted spots on the Olympic roster. </p>
<p>Veteran Canadian basketball player Kim Boucher recently made a <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCOlympics/status/1408152397214539779?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1408587245917986825%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbc.ca%2Fsports%2Folympics%2Fsummer%2Fbasketball%2Folympics-canada-basketball-kim-gaucher-breastfeeding-1.6078717">plea via social media</a> to be allowed to bring her three-month-old daughter (whom she was still breastfeeding) to Tokyo. The organizing committee’s initial answer was no, given pandemic restrictions. When international media pressure mounted, the committee’s stance shifted. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1408152397214539779"}"></div></p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/basketball/olympics-canada-basketball-kim-gaucher-breastfeeding-1.6078717">statement to the CBC</a>, the committee said: “It is our understanding that no children stayed at Olympic Villages during previous Games. Nevertheless, there may be special circumstances, particularly with regard to infant children.” </p>
<p>With the ultimate reversal of their decision, Boucher and her daughter <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/basketball/tokyo-organizers-allow-nursing-mothers-bring-children-to-olympics-1.6085847?utm_content=buffer1222b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">will be attending the Olympic Games together</a>.</p>
<h2>Fighting to qualify</h2>
<p>In 2018, Canadian Olympic boxer Mandy Bujold’s dream of starting a family became a reality when her daughter was born.</p>
<p>Knowing she wanted to compete at another Olympic Games, Bujold set her sights on Tokyo 2020. Her plans were nearly put on hold when the International Olympic Committee’s boxing task force announced that the qualification criteria for the Tokyo Games would be based on rankings at three tournaments where Bujold had not competed <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/boxing/mandy-bujold-olympic-box-cas-appeal-the-moment-my-olympic-dream-was-almost-taken-from-me-1.6084647?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar">due to her pregnancy</a>.</p>
<p>Bujold fought back, bringing her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/boxing/mandy-bujold-tokyo-olympics-1.6085623">ruled on June 30</a> that accommodation must be made for women who were pregnant or postpartum during the qualification period.</p>
<h2>Mothers making waves</h2>
<p>After a nearly two-decade career highlighted by six Olympic gold medals over the course of four Games and countless world championship victories, American sprinter Allyson Felix could have retired with an unmatched legacy in track and field when she became pregnant in 2019. </p>
<p>But she didn’t. Instead, the decorated Olympian is returning to Tokyo for her fifth Olympic Games — and her first as a mother.</p>
<p>After a break with long-time sponsor Nike, Felix’s vocal advocacy has forced major corporations to reconsider how they support female athletes before and after pregnancy.</p>
<p>Shortly after facing public backlash regarding its treatment of pregnant athletes like Felix, Nike announced a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/08/16/under-fire-nike-expands-protections-pregnant-athletes/">new maternity policy</a> for sponsored athletes back in August 2019. The new policy expanded the amount of time a pregnant athlete’s pay and bonuses cannot be cut, from 12 to 18 months.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman running wearing a tank top with FELIX across the front" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411123/original/file-20210713-13-1k45d00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411123/original/file-20210713-13-1k45d00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411123/original/file-20210713-13-1k45d00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411123/original/file-20210713-13-1k45d00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411123/original/file-20210713-13-1k45d00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411123/original/file-20210713-13-1k45d00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411123/original/file-20210713-13-1k45d00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Allyson Felix finishes second during a semi-final in the women’s 200 metres at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in June.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another mother making waves in elite sport is Helen Glover, who became the <a href="https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/31597147/olympic-champion-helen-glover-qualifies-toyko-become-first-british-mother-row-games">first mother</a> named to a British Olympic rowing team last month. The remarkable part of Glover’s story is not only that the right personal supports are now in place for her, but that it has taken so long for one of the sport’s best funded and most prolific national teams to achieve this milestone. </p>
<h2>The research is clear</h2>
<p>While participation in elite sport typically declines in pregnant athletes, female athletes are pushing against the societal narrative that they should “take it easy” during pregnancy and beyond by smashing stereotypes and continuing to compete.</p>
<p>As female participation in elite sport has grown during pregnancy and the postpartum period, so has <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32925496/%20%20and%20https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33560776">our understanding</a> of the health impacts of elite sport participation during this time. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30337460/">Extensive research</a> has demonstrated the safety and benefits of engaging in physical activity during pregnancy for both mother and child.</p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30337465/">The research</a> is clear: from a reduction in major pregnancy complication from gestational diabetes to pre-eclampsia, to improved mental health and delivery outcomes, the best advice for most pregnant individuals is to exercise regularly.</p>
<p>We recently conducted research that’s been published examining the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32925496/">impact of elite sport participation during</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33560776/">and following pregnancy</a> on health outcomes and return to sport. This data provided reassuring evidence of the safety of elite sport participation during pregnancy: elite athletes had similar pregnancy, labour and delivery outcomes to sub-elite and recreational athletes, and there is some evidence of reduction in common pregnancy ailments such as low back pain. </p>
<p>Now that pregnancy no longer marks the end of an athlete’s career, many elite athletes not only return to sport, but go on to break personal and world records as new moms. As more female athletes train and compete at the elite level during the reproductive years, it is critical sport policies evolve to support the health and well-being of all athletes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163862/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Thornton is an Assistant Professor at Western University and Sport Medicine Physician at the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic. She receives funding as a Canada Research Chair in Injury Prevention and Physical Activity for Health as well as through internal research grants and AMOSO funding. She receives an honorarium as Editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margie Davenport is an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta. She receives funding from the Christenson Professorship in Active Healthy Living, NSERC, SSHRC, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the Women and Children's Health Research Institute, and Canada Foundation for Innovation. She received a stipend from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology to develop the Pre & Postnatal Exercise Specialization.</span></em></p>The Tokyo Games might be the most gender-equal games in history, but many competition barriers still exist for elite athletes who are mothers.Jane Thornton, Clinician Scientist, Canada Research Chair in Injury Prevention and Physical Activity for Health, Sport Medicine Physician, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western UniversityMargie Davenport, Associate Professor, Christenson Professor in Active Healthy Living, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of AlbertaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1642672021-07-19T13:47:49Z2021-07-19T13:47:49ZTokyo Olympics without crowds: will the home nation’s medal chances suffer?<p>The Tokyo 2021 Olympics will be the first Games to take place with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/08/tokyo-to-be-put-under-state-of-emergency-for-duration-of-2020-olympic-games">no spectators</a>. The sight of sparsely populated stadiums and arenas has, of course, become common during the pandemic – and sports economists have studied the impact this has had on athletic performance. </p>
<p>But the Olympics are different. For so many athletes, reaching the four-yearly Games is the crowning achievement of their careers. So there was bitter disappointment when at first <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-the-tokyo-olympics-go-ahead-without-a-level-playing-field-for-covid-19-vaccines-157103">international</a> and then <a href="https://theconversation.com/tokyo-2020-with-no-spectators-local-sponsors-lose-out-163450#:%7E:text=After%20much%20deliberation%20over%20whether,no%20domestic%20or%20foreign%20spectators.&text=They%20are%20part%20of%20the,International%20Olympic%20Committee%20(IOC).">domestic</a> visitors <a href="https://theconversation.com/holding-the-tokyo-olympics-without-spectators-during-covid-19-emergency-puts-the-iocs-supreme-authority-on-full-display-163702">were banned</a> from events.</p>
<p>Now all athletes in Tokyo will be performing to venues <a href="https://reut.rs/3r24QPt">largely emptied</a> of all fans. But this will be more keenly felt by Japan’s Olympic team, who would have dreamed of performing in front of their own fans. And how will the empty arenas affect their ability to capitalise on home advantage?</p>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2021.109868">supportive home audience</a> is one of the four factors to which <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-really-causes-home-field-advantage-and-why-its-on-the-decline-126086">home advantage</a> in professional sports is routinely pegged. Others include athletes not having <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.13.1.42">to travel</a>, being <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/026404102321011724">familiar</a> with home conditions and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-985X.2009.00604.x">favourable referee bias</a>.</p>
<p>The hosts of the last three summer Olympics - <a href="https://theconversation.com/rios-olympic-legacy-six-months-on-how-has-the-city-fared-72993">Rio 2016</a>, London 2012 and Beijing 2008 - did unusually well too, gaining a higher proportion of Olympic success, as measured in medals and finalists, in both men’s and women’s events compared with the previous Games. In terms of gold medals only, Brazil went from three to seven between 2012 and 2016, Great Britain went from 19 to 29 between 2008 and 2012, and China went from 32 to 48 between 2004 and 2008.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411728/original/file-20210717-15-br2qu1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411728/original/file-20210717-15-br2qu1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411728/original/file-20210717-15-br2qu1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411728/original/file-20210717-15-br2qu1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411728/original/file-20210717-15-br2qu1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411728/original/file-20210717-15-br2qu1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411728/original/file-20210717-15-br2qu1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Percentage of Olympic points in men’s and women’s events, won by host nations of the last three summer Olympic Games, 1992-2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Uses data from the International Olympic Committee and Olympics.com. Olympic Points are summed over all men’s or women’s events in a Games according to the following: Gold=5, Silver=3, Bronze=2, Finalist=1.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=3888639">have quantified</a> the general home advantage effects, throughout the modern Olympic period, from 1896 to 2016. Unlike most research to date, we have looked at both summer and winter Olympiads, and at sports held under very different conditions – with or without judges, inside or outside a venue, with many or few spectators. </p>
<h2>Modern Olympic history</h2>
<p>We looked at the percentage of all available gold medals won by the host nation for each summer and winter Games in the modern era, from <a href="https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/athens-1896">Athens 1896</a> to <a href="https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/rio-2016">Rio 2016</a>, for men’s and for women’s events.</p>
<p>In the early years the host had a substantial advantage. At the 1932 summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the US team won 28% of the gold medals available in the men’s events and 70% in the women’s events. This advantage then declined over time as the diversity of countries and athletes participating has <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010141">increased</a>, raising competition. At Rio 2016, 207 countries were represented, compared with just 37 countries in 1932.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411419/original/file-20210715-17-udeztm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411419/original/file-20210715-17-udeztm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411419/original/file-20210715-17-udeztm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411419/original/file-20210715-17-udeztm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411419/original/file-20210715-17-udeztm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411419/original/file-20210715-17-udeztm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411419/original/file-20210715-17-udeztm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Percentage of all gold medals in men’s events won by the host nation at the summer and winter Olympic Games, 1896-2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Uses data from the International Olympic Committee and Olympics.com. </span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411422/original/file-20210715-17-1azh7fq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411422/original/file-20210715-17-1azh7fq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411422/original/file-20210715-17-1azh7fq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411422/original/file-20210715-17-1azh7fq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411422/original/file-20210715-17-1azh7fq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411422/original/file-20210715-17-1azh7fq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411422/original/file-20210715-17-1azh7fq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Percentage of all gold medals in women’s events won by the host nation at the summer and winter Olympic Games, 1900-2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Uses data from the International Olympic Committee and Olympics.com. </span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Several <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1527002521992833">studies</a> have estimated the effect of hosting the Olympics on the success of home teams and individual athletes. Typically, they have found that it depends on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2016.1248463">the sport</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2012-0307">athlete’s gender</a>. </p>
<p>By comparing how countries performed when hosting and when not, we estimate that hosts of the summer Olympics could expect on average a two percentage-point increase in their share of success across disciplines, for both men’s and women’s events. Assuming finalists and bronze medals were unaffected, this corresponds to Japan approximately turning every seventh silver medal into gold because they are competing at home.</p>
<p>We also found that the home advantage effect has been 50% greater at the winter than the summer Olympics since 1988 in men’s events. We found no advantage for female athletes from hosting at the winter Games. </p>
<p>Great Britain may have achieved fewer golds in 2016 compared with their home games in 2012, but the overall medal count went up, from 67 to 69. In general, we found that spillover effects of hosting the summer Games on the previous and next Olympiads are normal. </p>
<p>Compared with the year of actually hosting the summer Games, the boost in success in men’s events was one-third as large as in the previous Games, and half as large as in the next Games. But these spillover effects from hosting do not tend to appear at the winter Games.</p>
<h2>Tokyo without crowds</h2>
<p>Sports economists and psychologists have studied how the absence of fans has affected performance during the pandemic. Much <a href="https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/qjp27">attention</a> has focused on <a href="https://theconversation.com/without-crowds-football-teams-still-have-a-home-advantage-new-study-158018">football</a>, where <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2020.102344">studies</a> have found reduced home advantage in matches played behind closed doors. </p>
<p>This is caused in part by how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2020.109664">referees could make decisions</a> without the pressure of a home audience. Similar effects have been noted <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.01446">in rugby</a>.</p>
<p>Not all Olympic sports, however, attract a raucous crowd that inspires performances or pressures the referees. Previous <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2016.1248463">research</a> found a significant host advantage in judged sports (such as gymnastics), but not in track and field athletics or swimming, where audiences are typically huge, but officials seldom influence outcomes. And even in stadium and arena events, Olympic crowds are typically more international and less partisan than at a Premier League football match.</p>
<p>Japan’s athletes will also still have favourable home knowledge and experience of the conditions on site (the climate, routines, and venues). These might, however, somewhat be reduced due to the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2020-test-aquatics-idUSKBN2BS26V">cancellation</a> of Olympic test events and the COVID measures on-site, which remain extraordinary compared to other years.</p>
<p>International athletes, meanwhile, will have had to travel to Tokyo. And all participants who do not live in Japan will have had to quarantine at their accommodation upon arrival for at least <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/covid-19-rules-tokyo-olympics-spectators-banned-vaccination/story?id=78225985">three days</a>. </p>
<p>Therefore, Japan is still likely to do well. A strong showing by the host nation matters. While the economic benefits of hosting are <a href="https://www.elgaronline.com/view/9781840649475.00017.xml">minimal</a> despite their <a href="https://time.com/4421865/olympics-cost-history/">ever increasing</a> costs, research has shown there are other positive benefits, from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2017.05.001">increased sports participation</a> among citizens to a sense of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2012.07.001">national pride, happiness</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2009.11.005">wellbeing</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164267/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carl Singleton receives funding from the Economics and Social Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Johan Rewilak receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominik Schreyer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Throughout the modern Olympic period, the host nation has had a home advantage. But crowds are not the only factorCarl Singleton, Associate Professor in Economics, University of ReadingDominik Schreyer, Assistant Professor of Sports Economics, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of ManagementJohan Rewilak, Lecturer in Economics, Finance and Entrepreneurship, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1638602021-07-15T16:46:42Z2021-07-15T16:46:42ZWearable tech at the Olympics: How athletes are using it to train to win<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410869/original/file-20210712-70822-19nc18m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C51%2C4896%2C3202&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wearable technology can help elite athletes, but sometimes too much data can be a problem.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 250px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/wearable-tech-at-the-olympics--how-athletes-are-using-it-to-train-to-win" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>One of the joys of watching the Olympics is seeing the speed, strength and grace of the competitors. It’s amazing how the best athletes in the world make it look easy, but for anyone with personal experience in a particular sport, there’s an appreciation for the hard work, sacrifice and dedication that goes into producing medal-winning performances. </p>
<p>Given the high standards of Olympic competition, it’s not surprising that coaches and athletes look for any possible advantage — from dietary regimens to equipment innovations and novel training methods — to maximize the chances of success. </p>
<p>One of the more recent tools in the Olympic arsenal is wearable technology, which many of us are familiar. Devices such as Fitbit, Garmin, Polar and the Apple watch allow us to measure and track various aspects of our health and performance. </p>
<p>Wearable tech was especially useful to keep track of athletes when training grounds were shut down because of the pandemic. The English Premier League used it to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/05/tech/statsports-performance-tracking-spt-spc-intl/index.html">keep track</a> of their players during remote training after the country went into lockdown.</p>
<p>In simple terms, “wearable technology” refers to anything attached to the body that measures some aspect of performance during physical activities such as running, biking, walking or swimming.</p>
<h2>How sensors monitor movement</h2>
<p>Many of the current devices involve micro-electromechanical systems, which incorporate sensors that quantify some aspect of physical function or movement — such as heart rate, speed, force or acceleration. </p>
<p>One of the main advantages of wearable systems is that they’re relatively inexpensive and small enough to be attached to any part of the human body. As a biomechanics researcher, I typically analyze movement in a lab with expensive 3D cameras. While this provides a high degree of accuracy, it limits the types and quantity of movements that can be analyzed. </p>
<p>Wearable technology — my current research and consulting focus — provides exciting new opportunities to measure performance from entirely new perspective, from basic metrics such as step or stroke count to new and highly advanced metrics such as harmonic ratios (frequency analysis) and fractal (self-similar) pattern recognition.</p>
<p>Consequently, wearable tech has the capability to provide a vast array of metrics to coaches and athletes in many different sports — from stride rate and stroke rate in running, swimming and rowing, to ground contact time and force analysis in speed skating and jumping. </p>
<h2>Continuous data</h2>
<p>One of the most obvious benefits of wearable tech is its ability to provide information that wasn’t previously available. For example, force-sensing resistors placed in shoes, ski boots or bike pedals can provide a continuous stream of data for entire training sessions.</p>
<p>Similarly, volleyball coaches who want to track the number of jumps in a given period of time (at each practice or during a week) to monitor training volume for the prevention of knee injuries, previously had to watch hours of video to obtain this information. </p>
<p>Currently, a simple wearable device called <a href="https://www.myvert.com/">(VERT)</a> can automatically extract this information using an accelerometer. One of my <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/olympics/wearable-tech-designed-canadian-swimmers-spawns-swimlytics/">recent research projects</a> used the same sensor to determine stroke count and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14763141.2020.1760923">body roll in elite swimmers</a>, as both of these factors contribute to the mechanisms of shoulder injury.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Swimmer in swim cap treading water and holding onto swim rope" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canadian Olympian Penny Oleksiak at the 2019 World Swimming Championships in South Korea.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Must be accurate and reliable</h2>
<p>To benefit performance, the data collected from wearable tech has to be both valid (accurate) and reliable (measured consistently).</p>
<p>This is not as easy as it sounds because the algorithms used to extract meaningful performance metrics are often finicky. For the information to be useful to coaches for evaluating performance and making training-related decisions (such as technique modifications), it has to be trustworthy. </p>
<p>The data also needs to be placed into the appropriate context to have meaning. For example, a sensor can tell a coach a swimmer’s average stroke rate for an entire race (or training session), but it’s not as meaningful as knowing how it varied or when it changed during the race. </p>
<p>Understanding the data in the appropriate context can provide insights into race tactics, pacing strategies and conditioning, but without this information the data is often meaningless. </p>
<h2>Quantity of data can be unmanageable</h2>
<p>An additional consideration for the implementation of wearable tech by Olympic athletes is the amount of data that’s generated.</p>
<p>Wearable tech produces large quantities of data that needs to be analyzed and contextualized with other types of information, such as sets, repetitions, intensities and interval times. The sheer quantity of data can easily become unmanageable when multiple athletes and training sessions are involved.</p>
<p>While challenging, the potential of wearable tech to provide new opportunities for Olympic athletes to optimize performance is unlimited, especially as sport science researchers continue to create new methods (such as AI) to explore what the technology is capable of. </p>
<p>It’s not unrealistic to imagine a not-too-distant future in which small unobtrusive sensors placed in a shoe or swim goggle will not only be able to enhance athletic performance, but be able to tell a recreational runner the amount of injury risk associated with a particular stride pattern or a physician the amount of risk associated with an elderly person’s gait.
Hopefully, in this way, wearable technology will provide many important benefits to society in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163860/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. John Barden provides sport science and data analytics consulting services to coaches and athletes through his company, Performance Insight. From 2015 to 2018 he received funding from Own the Podium to develop a sensor-based performance analysis system for Swimming Canada. </span></em></p>The future of wearable technology holds limitless potential for elite athletes to optimize and enhance their athletic performance.John Barden, Professor of Biomechanics, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1639662021-07-14T20:12:13Z2021-07-14T20:12:13ZFrom slushie machines to megalitres of alcohol spray, the Tokyo Olympics are a logistical nightmare<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411179/original/file-20210714-17-qbtphg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C778%2C3962%2C1960&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kyodo/AP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The postponed Tokyo Olympics are about to start, albeit with no hugging or high-fives. More than 11,000 athletes will compete in 339 sporting events across 40+ venues. They will be bonded by the Olympic spirit of friendship, solidarity, fair play — and global logistics. </p>
<p>There are not just athletes from 205 different nations making their way to Japan, so too are thousands of tonnes of equipment and supplies. </p>
<p>Hundreds of containers packed weeks, or even months ago, are arriving at the ports of Tokyo and Yokohama. More is coming by air. All of it must be unloaded and transported, unscathed, to the right place at the right time. </p>
<h2>What is in the container?</h2>
<p>The containers headed to Japan are full of everyday items such as mattress toppers, sheets, blankets, pillows, pillowcases and towels, for use by athletes and officials staying at the Olympic Village, a set of 21 high-rise residential buildings in the centre of Tokyo. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The Olympic Village in Chuo Ward, Tokyo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411152/original/file-20210714-23-1ryg36n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411152/original/file-20210714-23-1ryg36n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411152/original/file-20210714-23-1ryg36n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411152/original/file-20210714-23-1ryg36n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411152/original/file-20210714-23-1ryg36n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411152/original/file-20210714-23-1ryg36n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411152/original/file-20210714-23-1ryg36n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Olympic Village in Chuo Ward, Tokyo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kanji Tada/Yomiuri Shimbun/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With temperatures expected to exceed 30°C, the <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/124988234/the-eyewatering-logistics-of-sending-the-olympic-team-to-tokyo-in-the-middle-of-a-pandemic">New Zealand team</a> is bringing ice vests, slushie machines and misting fans – with transformers to ensure all equipment will work on the local power supply (100 V, not 110V/220V). </p>
<p>Most teams are bringing recovery drinks and snack packs, but each country has its own way. Britain’s team, for example, has 45,000 teabags and 8,000 porridge pots <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/apr/13/team-gb-tokyo-olympics-gold-porridge-jenga-teabags">on its list</a>.</p>
<p>Then comes the high-performance sports equipment. Boats, canoes, oars, surfboards and bikes take up a lot of room. Combat sports teams bring tatamis, mats and punching bags — all pretty heavy. Balls, guns, darts, poles, rackets, gloves, skateboards, swords, guns, golf clubs — name a sport and you will find specialised equipment related to it. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Australia's Cedric Dubler during the Men's Decathlon Javelin Throw at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411188/original/file-20210714-19-1kzsvb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411188/original/file-20210714-19-1kzsvb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411188/original/file-20210714-19-1kzsvb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411188/original/file-20210714-19-1kzsvb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411188/original/file-20210714-19-1kzsvb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411188/original/file-20210714-19-1kzsvb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411188/original/file-20210714-19-1kzsvb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia’s Cedric Dubler during the Men’s Decathlon Javelin Throw at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dave Hunt/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are uniforms — shoes, shirts, shorts, jumpers, pants, jackets, socks, caps and helmets by the hundreds of thousands. The <a href="https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2021/05/26/tokyo-2020-logistics-during-a-pandemic/">Canadian delegation</a> packed more than 31,000 pieces of clothing for Tokyo in 2020 that had to be unpacked and hung up in a Montreal warehouse before being packed again.</p>
<h2>Packing for a pandemic</h2>
<p>To all this a new category has been introduced for the Tokyo Olympics: COVID-related items. </p>
<p>More than a million disposable masks, aprons and shoe covers are being sent, along with megalitres of alcohol sprays and hand sanitisers. The Australian Olympic team’s five containers include 75,000 masks, 544 bottles of hand sanitiser and 40,000 disinfectant wipes. </p>
<p>Most delegations stacked pallets in containers months ago, as if playing a Tetris game. The <a href="http://aroundtherings.com/site/A__103393/Title__In-the-most-complex-logistical-operation-in-its-history-Brazil-NOC-sends-20-containers-with-materials-to-Tokyo/292/Articles">Brazilian team shipped</a> more than 20 containers early in April. The British team sent its gear even earlier, in February. </p>
<h2>Last mile delivery</h2>
<p>Supply-chain managers will tell you about 30% of costs and more than 70% of problems in transportation take place in the “last mile”, those few kilometres moving products from the delivery company’s warehouse to the final destination. </p>
<p>The most significant challenge in Tokyo is traffic congestion. More than 37 million people live in the greater metropolitan area. Even with the pandemic, and no spectators, the number of people on the move everyday will still be huge.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/holding-the-tokyo-olympics-without-spectators-during-covid-19-emergency-puts-the-iocs-supreme-authority-on-full-display-163702">Holding the Tokyo Olympics without spectators during COVID-19 emergency puts the IOC’s ‘supreme authority’ on full display</a>
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<p>The city’s fourth state of emergency since the pandemic began was declared this week. But it has resulted in pedestrian flows at five major city sites falling <a href="https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14393135%20on%20a%20a%20week%20earlier%20The%20%5BAsahi%20Shimbun">less than 1%</a> on the week before.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Morning pedestrian traffic in Tokyo on July 13 2021." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411181/original/file-20210714-14-17k1zvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411181/original/file-20210714-14-17k1zvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411181/original/file-20210714-14-17k1zvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411181/original/file-20210714-14-17k1zvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411181/original/file-20210714-14-17k1zvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411181/original/file-20210714-14-17k1zvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411181/original/file-20210714-14-17k1zvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Morning pedestrian traffic in Tokyo on July 13.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jae C. Hong/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Clever planning means the Olympic Village is well situated, about 18 km from the airport, 7 km from the Port of Tokyo, and 35 km from the Port of Yokohama, where most of the equipment will land. </p>
<p>There are 28 Olympic venues within 10 km of the village, including the Japan National Stadium. There are 14 other venues further away. The golf competition at the Kasumigaseki Country Club, for example, is 70 km away, a trip that would normally take up to three hours by road. </p>
<h2>Getting through customs</h2>
<p>To get through customs, each national team must declare product names, quantities and prices. They navigate a <a href="https://inside.fei.org/system/files/Tokyo%202020%20Customs%20%20Freight%20Forwarding%20Guide_Revised%20Final%20ver%2820210129%29.pdf">90-page document</a> on the formalities for importing and exporting equipment for the games. </p>
<p>Once cleared, transporting competitive sports gear is a sensitive task. A splinter or twist in the equipment may prevent an athlete from competing. If an item is damaged or lost, there is little opportunity to wait for a replacement. </p>
<p>Now, consider the effect of COVID-19 on bulk distribution and packing. </p>
<p>At the 2016 Rio Olympics, uniforms were collected in bases where hundreds of athletes waited in line. In Tokyo, each athlete must advise of their size in advance and their uniforms will be delivered directly to their rooms. The result will be more than 11,000 room deliveries in three weeks, plus returns. </p>
<h2>Fewer volunteers</h2>
<p>Volunteers are central to support venues and event management. Before the pandemic, about <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2020-volunteers-limbo-idUSKBN2B00QH">110,000 volunteers</a> had been recruited. Now there will be less, with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-03/tokyo-olympics-chief-rules-out-delay-despite-coronavirus/100189072">10,000 having quit</a> and about 8,000 overseas volunteers being excluded. The state of emergency may reduce numbers even further. </p>
<p>With strict barriers in place to prevent contamination, and a process that is running for the first time in an event of such complexity, being short-handed will test the Japanese reputation for organisational efficiency. </p>
<p>Games volunteers must work fast. Items must be tracked with utmost accuracy. Throwing events at the main stadium, for example, will see discuses, hammers, javelins and shot-put balls tagged to hundreds of athletes moving to different areas at very specific times. </p>
<p>Once qualifying rounds are over, equipment from the athletes not making to the finals must be removed and stored, for later return to their home countries. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411186/original/file-20210714-21-yd67m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Brazilian pole vaulter Fabiana Murer competing in 2007." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411186/original/file-20210714-21-yd67m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411186/original/file-20210714-21-yd67m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411186/original/file-20210714-21-yd67m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411186/original/file-20210714-21-yd67m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411186/original/file-20210714-21-yd67m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1076&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411186/original/file-20210714-21-yd67m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1076&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411186/original/file-20210714-21-yd67m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1076&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Brazilian pole vaulter Fabiana Murer competing in 2007.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dario Lopez-Mills/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mistakes may hold up events and distract athletes from putting in their best performance. This happened with Brazilian pole vaulter Fabiana Murer at the 2008 Beijing Games, when she couldn’t find <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-athletics-women-pole-delay-idUKB18358820080818">the right-sized pole</a> during the final. </p>
<h2>Not so social</h2>
<p>Socialising has always been a byproduct of the Olympics. After four years of intense training and a blaze of glory, athletes from around the world mix, mingle and party to the big parade at the closing ceremony. </p>
<p>But not in Tokyo. Athletes are banned from visiting bars, restaurants and shops. After-parties will not be tolerated in the Olympic Village. There is a chance only the flag bearer for each nation will come to the stadium for the closing ceremony.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/condoms-vaccines-and-sport-how-the-tokyo-olympics-is-sending-mixed-messages-about-covid-19-safety-163361">Condoms, vaccines and sport: how the Tokyo Olympics is sending mixed messages about COVID-19 safety</a>
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<p>Athletes must leave the village <a href="https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Olympic-Games/Tokyo-2020/Playbooks/The-Playbook-Athletes-and-Officials-V3.pdf?_ga=2.233509022.1253461871.1625710156-1110105578.1625710156">within 48 hours</a> of the end of their event. Consider that they do not know if they will make it beyond the first heat. With limited flights to and from Tokyo, moving delegations is as much a complicated logistics effort as is the “last mile” delivery. </p>
<p>This will certainly be an Olympics to remember. Fingers crossed it will not be only for the wrong reasons.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163966/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Flavio Macau is affiliated with the Australasian Supply Chain Institute</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Sibson is affiliated with the Australian and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies (ANZALS). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashlee Morgan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With athletes from 205 different nations making their way to Japan come thousands of tonnes of equipment and supplies.Flavio Macau, Associate dean, Edith Cowan UniversityAshlee Morgan, Lecturer in Sport Business & Marketing, Edith Cowan UniversityRuth Sibson, Senior Lecturer and Course Coordinator - Sport, Recreation and Event Management, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1329562021-07-11T12:28:42Z2021-07-11T12:28:42ZSex testing at the Olympics should be abolished once and for all<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409762/original/file-20210705-126479-1ab8by4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C24%2C2961%2C1725&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women's 800-metre silver medal winner Margaret Nyairera Wambui, left, shakes hands with gold medal winner Caster Semenya on the podium at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. Both runners have refused to take hormone-reducing drugs so they could compete at the Tokyo Olympics.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 250px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/sex-testing-at-the-olympics-should-be-abolished-once-and-for-al" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Like the proverbial whack-a-mole, the Olympic sex test keeps coming back — with disastrous effects for women athletes across the globe — no matter how many times athletes and human rights’ advocates think they have abolished it.</p>
<p>The test was introduced in the 1930s to weed out <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=nT4bDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=%E2%80%9Cathl%C3%A9tes+femmes+anormales%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=5ssYpczWUM&sig=ACfU3U0t-Xdxuxv2c_TFJPH_G4jF4gwoLg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj52u6izszxAhXYsZ4KHfAuBokQ6AEwAHoECAIQAw#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9Cathl%C3%A9tes%20femmes%20anormales%E2%80%9D&f=false">“abnormal women athletes”</a> from the Olympics. The first test was a physical examination. </p>
<p>During the 1960s, when women began to object to the test’s <a href="https://olympics.time.com/2012/07/02/how-the-ioc-tests-for-gender/">“nude parades,”</a> the official response was not abolition, but replacement by chromosome analysis.</p>
<p>Feminists, athletes, geneticists, ethicists, and national governments protested, but it took until the 1990s when the International Amateur Athletic Federation (now known as World Athletics) and the International Olympic Committee ended the test. </p>
<h2>The ‘fine print’</h2>
<p>That turned out to be short lived. In the fine print of those decisions, the governing bodies reserved the right to resume the testing of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/02/22/first-they-qualified-for-the-olympics-then-they-had-to-prove-their-sex/">“suspicious” women</a>. </p>
<p>After the triumph of South African middle distance runner Caster Semenya at the 2009 world championships in Berlin, World Athletics and the IOC <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/iaaf-news/iaaf-to-introduce-eligibility-rules-for-femal-1">instituted a “hyperandrogenism” test</a> which set a limit of 10 nanomoles on the amount of natural testosterone a woman could possess to remain eligible.</p>
<p>In 2014, Indian sprinter Dutee Chand was singled out for the test and suspended just as she was finalizing her preparations for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. With the help of scholars Payoshni Mitra and Katrina Karkazis, the Sport Authority of India and Toronto lawyers Jim Bunting and Carlos Sayao, Chand appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), sometimes called the supreme court of international sport. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-july-29-2015-1.3171969/dutee-chand-wins-case-for-high-testosterone-female-athletes-1.3171976">She won.</a></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Athlete, with an Indian flag draped around her shoulders, raises one arm to wave at the crowd." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409754/original/file-20210705-126479-1jetgly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409754/original/file-20210705-126479-1jetgly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409754/original/file-20210705-126479-1jetgly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409754/original/file-20210705-126479-1jetgly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409754/original/file-20210705-126479-1jetgly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409754/original/file-20210705-126479-1jetgly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409754/original/file-20210705-126479-1jetgly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">India’s Dutee Chand celebrates after her second-place finish in the women’s 100-metre final during at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The CAS overturned Chand’s suspension and the very policy itself on the grounds that the scientific evidence submitted by the athletics body was unconvincing. The IOC called off the test and both Chand and Semenya competed in the Rio Olympics, with Semenya again winning the 800 metres.</p>
<h2>Short-lived protection</h2>
<p>However, the optimism that the CAS would prove an effective protector of gender rights proved short-lived. In 2018, World Athletics imposed a revised threshold of five nanomoles of natural testosterone on the five events in which Semenya runs — ranging from 400 metres to the mile — and promptly suspended her. She, too, appealed to CAS, on the grounds that her human rights as a woman had been violated. </p>
<p>Semenya submitted extensive evidence that the test had driven many other women from the sport, stolen their livelihoods, subjected them to ridicule and harassment, and in a few frightening cases, forced them to undergo unnecessary, irreversible medical intervention, including surgery. Most of the affected athletes came from the Global South.</p>
<p>She was unsuccessful. While the CAS acknowledged the new regulation was discriminatory, it claimed that human rights were beyond the scope of its mandate. </p>
<p>Semenya has since appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, but no decision has been announced.</p>
<p>The ruling by World Athletics means Semenya could compete in the 5,000 metres event without undergoing treatment to reduce her natural testosterone. While she is the current 5,000 metre champion in South Africa, <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/sthletics-caster-semenya-misses-5000m-olympic-qualifying-time-durban">she was unable to meet the Olympic qualifying standard</a>. This means she <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/caster-semenya-tokyo-olympics-11625159284">won’t compete in Tokyo</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Waist-up shot of Semenya in the middle of a pack of other runners, mid-stride." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409755/original/file-20210705-35872-1gfnvu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409755/original/file-20210705-35872-1gfnvu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409755/original/file-20210705-35872-1gfnvu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409755/original/file-20210705-35872-1gfnvu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409755/original/file-20210705-35872-1gfnvu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409755/original/file-20210705-35872-1gfnvu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409755/original/file-20210705-35872-1gfnvu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Caster Semenya on her way to winning the 5000-metres at the South African national championships in April. However, she was unable to meet the Olympic standard time in order to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Christiaan Kotze/File)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The persistence of the test, despite the condemnation of the <a href="https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/44/26">United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/sports/olympics/intersex-athletes-human-rights.html">Human Rights Watch</a>, <a href="https://www.wma.net/news-post/wma-reiterates-advice-to-physicians-not-to-implement-iaaf-rules-on-classifying-women-athletes/">the World Medical Association</a> and many scientific and academic bodies, painfully exposes the empty human rights rhetoric of the IOC. There is no scientific, legal, or ethical basis for such tests. </p>
<h2>A history of ignorance</h2>
<p>As the longtime athletics official and IOC member <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-to-be-on-the-right-side-of-history-the-ioc-must-rule-out-sex-testing/">Arne Lundqvist acknowledged</a> at the CAS: “There has been a long history of ignorance.”</p>
<p>The way that such policies have been developed flies in the face of the international standard for arms-length vetting, evidence and consultation with those affected. </p>
<p>It is a stain on the Tokyo Olympics that Semenya, the two-time Olympic gold medallist and three-time world champion, one of the most charismatic athletes in the world, has been barred from defending her 800-metre title simply on the basis of unfounded stereotypes.</p>
<p>To empower unaccountable sports bodies, advised by self-selected physicians, to exclude some women on the basis of their personal perceptions of womanhood is both wrong-headed and unfair. The sex test should be abolished once and for all, and gender self-identification should become the basis for eligibility in women’s events at the Games.</p>
<h2>Focus on human rights</h2>
<p>How can the sex test be abolished? The most obvious solution is to follow Semenya’s lead and win women’s rights under the banner of human rights. Human Rights Watch has proposed that the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/12/04/theyre-chasing-us-away-sport/human-rights-violations-sex-testing-elite-women">IOC adopt the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights</a>, which require a formal legal mechanism to hear and rule on complaints, and others have done the same. </p>
<p>While the <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/the-olympic-charter">Olympic Charter proclaims</a> that “the practice of sport is a human right,” the IOC has failed to provide any mechanism to enforce human rights, claiming that as a private organization it enjoys the “autonomy of sport” from governments and human rights regimes. A growing body of scholarship disputes that claim. </p>
<p>The IOC does seem to be moving in the right direction, <a href="https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/Documents/Olympic-Agenda-2020/Olympic-Agenda-2020-Recommendation-28-November-2016.pdf">floating the notion</a> of “responsible autonomy” and requiring that workers’ and citizens’ rights be protected in the staging of the 2024 Olympics in Paris and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>But it seems reluctant to impose any human rights requirements or protections upon Tokyo or the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. It continues to restrict athletes’ rights to free speech in the recently announced revisions to Rule 50 that governs conduct at the Games. </p>
<p>I wish there was another way, but to end the sex test once and for all, we must first win the battle for Olympic human rights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Kidd is an honorary member of the Canadian Olympic Committee. </span></em></p>Mandatory sex testing at the Olympics might have stopped in the 1990s, but the policing of high performance female athletes’ bodies is still ongoing.Bruce Kidd, Professor Emeritus of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.