Baron Pierre de Coubertin conceived the Olympic Games on the finish of the nineteenth century as a revival of the competitors that had introduced glory to historical Greece, with an more and more forgotten double motive: to defend sport towards political pursuits and to rejoice amateurism.
The Olympic motion has had too many controversial moments in its historical past, corresponding to when it was the mouthpiece of Nazism on the 1936 Berlin Games, with Adolf Hitler within the stands, though the picture of the American Jesse Owens elevating his fist in entrance of the Nazi chief after profitable the 100m has gone down in historical past.
Boycotts and the politicisation of sport
The US-led bloc boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games and the US and Commonwealth-led response to the 1984 Los Angeles Games stay anecdotal within the face of the brand new scenario by which the Olympic physique itself vetoes international locations over non-sporting points corresponding to Russia and Belarus.
The very fast response of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine contrasts with the Thomas Bach-led organisation's lukewarm perspective to the armed battle between Israel and Palestine, Israel's indiscriminate bombing of embassies, Iran's response with two dozen missiles and drones, or the bombing between the United States and the Houthis in Yemen.
The International Olympic Committee has grow to be one other actor on the political scene, just like the UN, NATO, the European Union or the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan). Wouldn't Baron Pierre de Coubertin have dreamed of an embrace between a Ukrainian and a Russian athlete? Or between an Israeli and a Palestinian? In this goal of depoliticising sport, the International Olympic Committee has failed miserably, particularly through the 'pranked' "Bach era".
The different main drawback is financial. In a context the place fewer and fewer international locations and cities wish to organise the Olympic Games, the query of amateurism has been left behind because the basketball 'Dream Team' of the United States, with Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, Larry Bird or John Stockton, marvelled on the Barcelona Games. It was the triumph of professionalism on the Olympic Games.
The query that has been requested for a while is that this. If the Olympic Games are now not skilled, why is all the cash going to the Olympic committees, with the IOC on the prime, in fact? Huge promoting contracts exploiting the picture of the actual protagonists, lots of of executives dwelling like royalty for nearly three weeks in five-star resorts with four-figure each day allowances and tv revenues that would feed whole international locations. Well, those that see the cash least are the athletes themselves, in a scenario harking back to the gladiators within the Colosseum in historical Rome.
In this situation, Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Federation (IBA), could be very clear that the athlete should be on the centre of consideration, which is why he has determined to professionalise beginner boxing, which has brought on a storm in some establishments. The Olympic Games, which, surprisingly sufficient, already enable skilled boxers to participate.
"We must be able to feed our families and make money from boxing. I can state categorically that the IBA should invest in boxing and not make money from it. We must continue to prove through our actions that boxing is not only a sport to be practised for health and fitness, but that it is also a means of advancement for many, it can even be a career," he harassed, outlining the organisation's new objectives.
And... what concerning the athletes? Former world boxing champion Roy Jones Jr., for instance, has a transparent opinion. "I am really pleased to see the great work the IBA is doing. The athletes feel safe and secure in the IBA. With more prize money, they will be able to achieve more, train harder and deliver more spectacular fights," stated the American.
This conflict towards the IBA is even threatening the continuity of some of the emblematic sports of an Olympic Games within the programme, by a IOC led by septagenarians who've curiously adopted the 'Millennium' T-shirt that includes breakdancing within the Paris 2024 programme as their newest contribution, whereas some members of the IOC are in favour of together with e-sports within the Olympic motion. The largest, quickest and strongest of Coubertain... however let a puppet do all of it on display.
The choice by Kremlev and the IOC to reward athletes financially tasted like burning horns to Thomas Bach and firm, however the brand new order now comes not from a Russian however from a British lord who goals of succeeding the German on the helm of the IOC: Sebastian Coe.
The President of World Athletics was as skilful as he was individualistic. Overnight, and with out consulting anybody, the two-time Olympic champion introduced that in Paris in 2024 the Olympic champions in every athletics occasion will obtain $50,000 (€46.647), a prize that will probably be retained in Los Angeles in 2028, with a further $30,000 (€27,988) for the runners-up and $20,000 for the bronze medallists, a complete of $2.4 million (€2.24 million).
Instead, athletes backed Seb Coe's thought. Norway's Karlsten Warholm, the reigning Olympic champion and world report holder within the 400m hurdles, was quoted by AFP as saying: "To be honest, anything that's offered in terms of a prize is good for the athletes, it's motivation, so it's very important that it recognises this changing landscape".
Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barhim, excessive soar gold medallist at Tokyo 2020, agrees with the Scandinavian. "Anything that's offered in terms of a prize is good for the athletes, it's motivation. These athletes work really hard and make sacrifices and this kind of prize is very important. The prize money in athletics can't be compared to football or basketball, for example," he stated.
Was Kremlev proper? Will the IOC take motion towards Coe and his World Athletics because it did towards the IBA? Absolutely not, and that is the place the primary premise of the politicisation of the Olympics turns into essential. Kremlev is Russian and Coe is British. A gentleman who, if he succeeds in his balancing act, may preside over the IOC itself. There he would have affirmation of his good administration of the London 2012 Olympics, the place he was president of the organising committee.
If the Games are the nice financial enterprise on which all the Olympic motion lives (and does very nicely) on a world scale, and if they've virtually utterly misplaced the beginner character that made them magical, together with Neymar, Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, why not give their success to the athletes whose picture pays for the entire occasion?
Sebastian Coe's choice has come as a blow to most worldwide sports federations. The ANOCA (Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa) has described his manoeuvre as "repugnant" and this stability to succeed in the highest of the IOC might be broken by these hate assaults.
The Association of International Olympic Federations (ASOIF), chaired by Francesco Ricci Bitti, additionally commented on the controversial difficulty. "In recent days, ASOIF members have expressed several concerns regarding the announcement made by World Athletics. This move undermines the values of Olympism and the uniqueness of the Games. You cannot and should not put a price on an Olympic gold medallist and in many cases, Olympic medallists benefit indirectly from commercial sponsorship. This ignores the less privileged athletes," stated the Italian.
What are these federations afraid of? That the snowball will get larger and they are going to be pressured to pay the athletes? Will Coe be proper ultimately? If so, Kremlev is not going to be the satan the IOC thinks he's, however a visionary who understood higher than anybody else that if you wish to squeeze the athletes, you must pay them for what they do.
Footballers with contracts value over €10 million quit virtually three weeks of their profession to the IOC and stay in an English mattress and breakfast within the Olympic Village. Doesn't anybody perceive that that is nonsense? How a lot cash did the IOC make, immediately or not directly, from Neymar's presence on the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with ticket gross sales, tv rights and picture rights? How a lot cash did the Brazilian participant obtain?
Another essential element is a profound inequality, because the IOC doesn't reward Olympic champions financially, thus preserving the unique spirit of the traditional Games. It is the assorted nationwide organisations that do that, creating vital variations between international locations. Far from selling equality, an American Olympic champion can obtain many occasions extra for a gold medal than one from a growing nation. Or some could obtain nothing in any respect
For instance, Spain's three Olympic gold medals at Tokyo 2020 had been distributed as follows: karate fighter Sandra Sánchez (kata) and rock climber Alberto Ginés (mixed) acquired a complete of 94,000 euros, whereas the taking pictures workforce of Fátima Gálvez and Alberto Fernández (combined workforce lure) took house €75,000 every. Had a workforce received gold, every member would have acquired €50,000.
The coaches of the champions may even be rewarded. They will obtain 10% of every medal received by their athletes, i.e. €9,400 euros for gold, €4,800 euros for silver and €3,000 euros for bronze, from which the taxes relevant of their nation of residence will probably be deducted, as these are non-tax-exempt financial quantities.
Spain is within the decrease center of the world rankings by way of prize cash, forward of nations such because the United States (€31,600 for every gold medal, €19,000 for silver and €12,650 for bronze), however far behind the €622,400 that Singapore receives for its gold medals alone, adopted by Taiwan (€603,000 euros) and Indonesia (€291,807 euros), as reported by Expansion in an article revealed after the final Olympic Games.
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