Neutral Flag: 4 Hot Olympics Questions
Earlier this week, the Russian team was removed from participation in the 2018 Olympics because of the systematic violation of anti-doping rules - the IOC came to the conclusion that we are supported by the doping system at the state level. At the same time, the IOC will give “clean” athletes the opportunity to perform at the Olympics, though not on behalf of the national team. Yesterday, Vladimir Putin said that the Russian authorities are not against this option: "We, without any doubt, will not declare any blockade, we will not prevent our Olympians from taking part if one of them wants to take part in his personal capacity."
This is a forced decision - in the event of a boycott of the current games, the country will be excluded from participation in the Olympics for another eight years, and this, in fact, means the closure of Russian sports. One way or another, we are likely to see Russian athletes at the Olympic Games in South Korea: participants will be able to perform at competitions under a neutral flag. We understand what this means and who has already come across this.
Why do athletes perform under the neutral flag
We are used to the fact that athletes participating in the Olympic Games compete in national uniform and under the flag of the country - although there have been quite a few exceptions to this rule over the past twenty-five years. For those cases where a country appeared quite recently or just broke up (which means it may not have a national Olympic committee), or if sanctions have affected the national Olympic committee of a country, the IOC has introduced the concept of independent Olympic athletes. Independent athletes, like any other participants of the game, can perform if they qualify in their sport - but they have no right to use the symbols of their country in their performances. In competitions and official events they participate in a neutral form and under the Olympic, that is, neutral flag (white with five rings) - and if they receive a gold medal, they play an Olympic anthem.
Who has performed under the neutral flag
For the first time, independent Olympic athletes took part in the Games in 1992 in Barcelona: they were 52 athletes from Yugoslavia. The country was under UN sanctions because of the hostilities against Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina - it was excluded from participation in the games, and only individual athletes were allowed to compete. In 1992, Yugoslav independent athletes received three medals - and 16 independent Paralympic athletes who performed in the same year received eight medals.
Very often the performances of athletes in independent status are associated with the geopolitical situation. In the same 1992, athletes of the former USSR republics acted as a unified team. At the same time, although they had a neutral form, at the summer games in Barcelona for the gold medal winners at the awards ceremony sounded the anthem of their country and raised the appropriate flag.
Four athletes from East Timor participated in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 in independent status, since the country was not yet declared independent. In 2010, the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist: the former Dutch colonies of Sint Maarten and the island of Curaçao became independent states within the Netherlands, and the islands of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius became autonomous territories of the Netherlands. Athletes of the former Netherlands Antilles at the games in Vancouver in 2010 were allowed to compete as independent participants or join the national teams of Aruba or the Netherlands.
For the first time, independent Olympic athletes took part in the Games in 1992 in Barcelona: they were 52 athletes from Yugoslavia
Sometimes athletes are deprived of the opportunity to act as a national team and through the fault of the national Olympic Committee. This happened, for example, in 2014 with the national team of India: the country's national Olympic Committee was temporarily disqualified due to the fact that officials who were suspected of corruption were elected as its leadership. As a result, three Indian athletes performed under the Olympic flag.
The Kuwaiti team found itself in a similar situation at the last Olympiad: in 2015, the IOC disqualified the country's Olympic Committee, as the government interfered in its activities. The shooter Fekhid al-Dikhani, speaking under a neutral flag, won gold at the competitions.
Sometimes a neutral form becomes a direct political statement. For example, in 2012 at the London Olympics, runner Guor Marial acted as an independent athlete. He is from South Sudan, but fled the country because of the war. Marial refused to perform under the Sudanese flag, as he believed that by doing so he would betray his family members and those who died in the civil war.
In 2016, an unprecedented event took place at the Olympics: a team of refugees took part in the Games. The team included ten athletes from different countries: six men and four women from Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The performance of this team is an attempt to draw attention to the migration crisis and give refugees hope.
What are the reasons why countries do not participate in the Olympics?
Although the Olympic Games are formally considered a territory free from politics and wars, in practice this is not the case for a long time. Some countries in the past were excluded from participation in games, others decided to boycott them - for example, if they were in confrontation with the host country. One of the most famous exclusion from participation in the games happened back in 1920: after the First World War, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Turkey and Bulgaria were not invited to participate in the Olympics (Germany missed the games of 1924). A similar situation occurred in 1948, after the end of the Second World War - this time Germany and Japan did not take part in the competition.
The longest from the participation in the Olympic Games was suspended South Africa. The country was banned from competing in games in 1964 due to apartheid and racial segregation. In 1968, South Africa attempted to return to participate in competitions, but other African countries threatened to boycott the Olympics in response. In 1970, the country was expelled from the International Olympic Committee, and the ban lasted for almost thirty years: the country re-entered the games only in 1992, after the start of negotiations on the end of apartheid. Because of discrimination, Afghanistan did not participate in the Games. The Taliban, who were in power in the country, forbade women to play sports - that is why the IOC did not allow the country before the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
The Taliban prohibited women from playing sports - so the IOC did not allow Afghanistan to the Sydney Olympics in 2000
In the history of the Olympics there were several boycotts - two of the most famous ones associated with the cold war. 67 countries did not come to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow - about fifty of them decided to boycott the event after the United States (although some allowed the athletes to go to the competitions on their own). The boycott was declared due to the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in 1979. In response, in 1984, the Olympic Games in Los Angeles decided to boycott the countries of the socialist bloc. This time, the protest was less: only 14 countries refused to participate in the competition (but they accounted for more than half of the gold medals received by athletes at the Olympics in 1976).
Less well-known protests date back to 1956 and 1976. In 1956, the games were boycotted for several reasons at once: Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands refused to participate due to the entry of Soviet troops into Hungary; Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq - due to the Suez crisis; China - due to the fact that the team of Taiwan participated in the competition. In 1976, the Olympic Games boycotted African countries: Tanzania initiated a boycott, and another 21 countries supported it. The reason for the protest was that the New Zealand rugby team, not part of the Olympic team, played a match with the South African team in the summer - the protesters believed that the sports teams should not interact with South Africa in principle.
What awaits Russian athletes (and us)
Whether the Russian athletes will go to the Olympics and who exactly will have such an opportunity will be decided by a commission approved by the IOC. Only athletes who are not suspected of doping will be able to take part in the competition; together with them, doctors and trainers who worked only with "clean" athletes will be allowed to go to Pyeongchang. For the first time in the history of competitions in the neutral status of the Russians at the games will be called "Olympic athletes from Russia", and not "independent Olympic athletes" - this rule did not apply last year in Rio.
It is unclear what decision the Olympians themselves will take - how the specific names of the athletes approved by the commission are unknown. Korean-born skater Victor An, for example, said he was ready to go to Pyeongchang under the neutral flag: "I have been preparing for this for four years, you can’t just give up everything." Hockey player Ilya Kovalchuk believes that athletes should be out of politics: “You must definitely go to the Olympics! To give up means to surrender! Everyone understands that the IOC’s decision is pure politics and against whom it is directed. In principle, it was clear solution. But if the athletes go there, it will unite the country. All the "clean" athletes must go. For many, these will be the last Games, and they will no longer have the opportunity to go to the Olympics. "
For the first time in the history of competitions in the neutral status of the Russians at the games will be called "Olympic athletes from Russia", and not "independent Olympic athletes"
The figure skater Evgenia Medvedev, for whom these games were supposed to be the first, in a speech at a meeting of the IOC Executive Committee, on the contrary, said she was not ready to play for the national team: Russia as a neutral athlete. I am proud of my country, it is a great honor for me to represent it at the Games. It gives strength and inspires me during performances. " Hockey player Alexander Ovechkin, who was not supposed to go to Pyeongchang, because the NHL did not let go of his players, takes a similar view: athletes in such a situation. But to go at their own expense and act under a neutral flag - I do not understand it at all. "
Regardless of whether athletes from Russia decide to go to the Olympics, the lack of a national team will affect it anyway: according to The New York Times, the Russian national team could take part in about a third of all competitions - and judging by previous results, it could claim on medals in nineteen of them. The decision of Russian athletes will also affect Russian spectators and fans: the VGTRK holding said it would refuse to broadcast the Games if the Russians did not go to them, and a representative from Gazprom-Media believes that without the Russian athletes, the Olympics are of little interest to viewers accepted.
Photo: Olympic (1, 2, 3)
