Brand New View

Gender Equality at the London 2012 Olympics? Signs of Progress...

As I discuss in my just officially released new book The Olympic Games Effect, the Ancient Greeks did not allow women to view or participate in the Olympics. Surprisingly to some, not every country in the modern era sends both men and women to the Olympics. That may change in London as the three remaining countries that have not previously sent women (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Brunei) may be on the verge of doing so. Talks have been under way between the IOC and Saudi Arabia about including several women on the team, for example. The talks are interesting because the female athletes being considered may not currently meet international qualifying standards, so the IOC may provide an exemption due to extraordinary circumstances. Political, cultural and religious sensitivities are combining to make this a very interesting and not altogether easy decision, but the long-term implications are positive and important because the IOC charter seeks gender equality. Having female athletes from these three remaining countries would also help reduce criticism of the IOC from groups like Human Rights Watch. Assuming all three countries send women to the Olympics it will mark the first time in nearly 3,000 years of Olympic history that all participating countries have both genders represented-an important symbol of progress for the Olympic Movement that is long overdue.

Madrid Risks Harming Its 2020 Olympic Bid

Richard Pound, a respected IOC member from Canada and the former President of WADA-the World Anti-Doping Agency-stated that Madrid's bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics is being undermined by the country's apparent attempts to protect individual athletes rather than being tougher on athletes that violate anti-doping regulations. The issue was highlighted on Monday this week when the Court of Arbitration for Sport banned Alberto Contador, the 2007, 2009 and 2010 Tour de France winner, for two years for tesing positive during the 2010 race, a finding that Contador disputes, claiming that he unwittingly ate contaminated meat containing the banned substances. Spanish authorities are asking for a lenient interpretation of the principle of 'stricit liability', which essentially states that athletes are solely responsible for any substances in their body. By seeking leniency, Spain is hoping to remove direct blame from Contador and thereby reduce or eliminate his ban. Pound is right to not have the principle of strict liability altered. Any athlete taking banned substances, either knowingly or not, creates an unfair advantage over competitors, which harms the integrity of the competition. Cycling's reputation has been severely harmed over the years due to ongoing doping scandals and the IOC understandably does not want any hint of controversy from its candidate cities. The IOC will announce the winning host city in September 2013 in Buenas Aires and Madrid only complicates their bid with their current lenient stance on doping rules.