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ATHLETES FIRST?
THE RIGHT TO HEALTH AND SAFETY IN POSTPONING THE TOKYO OLYMPIC GAMES HAN XIAO Table tennis athlete Han Xiao was voted chair of the United States Olympic Committee Athletes’ Advisory Council in 2017, where he advocates for athlete’s rights. Han is a former US National Table Tennis Team Member and Pan Am Bronze Medallist, and tweets @hanxiao86
When the International Olympic Committee was founded in 1894, it aimed to promote peace and harmony through amateur sport. The lofty ideals stated in the Olympic Charter include a responsibility to the world, putting sport at the service of society. The first principle of Olympism within the current iteration of the Olympic Charter1 reads: “Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.” Indeed, the Olympic and Paralympic movement itself is meant to serve and be an inspiration to society. Yet in recent years, we have seen large movements against the hosting of the Games in many cities, suggesting that not all of society believes in the unifying power of the movement’s ultimate event. Most recently, the coronavirus pandemic has put the IOC’s ethics and ideals to the test. It highlighted several issues with the IOC’s priorities and the power dynamics within the organisation.
The coronavirus pandemic began to spread through Europe and the United States in February 2020, after the initial outbreak in China. On January 30, the WHO declared coronavirus a global emergency as the situation in China continued to deteriorate2. By January 31, Italy had declared a state of emergency3 and suspended flights to and from China, which was not enough to contain the virus. Before the end of February, Italy and Iran became new epicenters of the outbreak. Despite the growing global concerns, on March 3, IOC President Thomas Bach expressed confidence that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games would proceed as planned and encouraged athletes to continue their preparations “with full steam.”4 This statement would prove to be problematic in at least two major ways. Firstly, the IOC’s confidence in staging a safe Olympic and Paralympic Games was baffling to many who were unsure how the situation would develop over the following months.
