Summary: Politics In The Sochi Olympics

Tyler Steffe
Schneider
S-318; Sport
Paper Option #2
2014 Winter Olympics: Politics in the Sochi Games “The Olympics remain the most compelling search for excellence that exists in sport, and maybe in life itself” (Dawn Fraser). The Olympic Games of our contemporary society began more than a hundred years ago. These games have grown immensely throughout the years, uniting thousands of the world’s finest athletes from over two-hundred nations. The motto of the Olympics, “Citius, Altius, Fortius” or, "Faster, Higher, Stronger", was created alongside the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. This motto was said to have represented a platform of morality in which these Olympic Games are meant to be held, and the appeal to which these
The year before the Sochi Olympics the Russian government passed anti-gay laws which intended to outlaw homosexual relations around minors. The goal of the Russian government was to also extend these laws to any visitors to the country. The penalty of breaking these laws by a tourist would be two weeks in prison. These laws show just how uneven the balance of power is in Russia. Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and the Russian government used the 2014 Olympics, the grandest stage in all of sport, as a political presentation by forcing their nations conflicting ideals and culture on the rest of the world. One of the Olympic Fundamental Principles states that, "Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement" (Olympic.org; International Olympic Committee | Olympic Movement Values). The politics at work here conflicted immensely with the Olympic movement and values of sport in general because the host country refused to express equality in favor of their government’s bigoted
Giselle Davies, a spokeswoman for the International Olympic Committee, stated, “It is not what the world wants to see. It is contrary to what the Olympic ideal stands for" (Reuters: Olympics-Caucasus Crisis Worries Georgia, Russia Teams). The conflicts between nations cause concern around the world leading up to the 2014 games. Through multiple bombings and terrorist attacks, the 2014 Olympics were becoming more political than they were ever meant to be. These political conflicts took precedent over the games and seemed to overshadow the true meaning behind the Olympics and sport. The global conflict and the expressed differences of opinions were a focal point of the politics which surrounded the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The ideals that were previously held leading up to the 2014 Winter Games seemed to be the constant no longer. This reality would be heavily debated and scrutinized by many nations around the world. Politics observed in the modern Olympic Games have become inconsistent with the original meaning behind this grand social tradition. The politics of each nation were to be set aside for the greater purpose of man and its conquest of unity through sport. It seems to me that the concern with politics by governments and those in power greatly interferes with the intent of the social