No fists raised on the podium, no kneeling at the moment of the hymn, no descent from the podium in protest. The next games will not have iconic moments in Olympic sport. The International Olympic Committee, in agreement with sportsmen, has established precise rules for the Tokyo Olympics next summer and for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, which must be a sporting event only. No reference to politics or religion.
There can be no protest gestures and symbols on the podium, during races or in official ceremonies.
«Most of the athletes he does not think it is appropriate for sportsmen to express their point of view during the opening ceremony, on the podium and during the races », the IOC explained in a note. Greater freedom instead “on social media, during press conferences and in mixed areas”.
Therefore, gestures like those in the gallery above will not be seen in Tokyo. The most famous of the Olympic protests is that of John Carlos e Tommie Smith, American sprinters who had raised their closed fist from the podium to support Black Power in Mexico 1968.
In recent years, protests have been mainly by athletes against colleagues accused of doping. The Australian swimmer Horton did it at the 2019 World Championships. At the Olympic Games in Rio the Russian Yulia Efimova wept overwhelmed by the whistles of the athletes section of the stands after the silver in the 100 breaststroke. In Formula One Lewis Hamilton showed his support for Black Lives Matter and many US athletes would have liked to do so at the games as well. Many European national teams have protested in recent weeks for the workers who died in the construction of stadiums in Qatar.
Before any protests the Japan has the problem of making games. Almost 75% of Japanese do not want athletes, technicians, referees, journalists and anyone who arrives from abroad when Covid is still not under control. The epidemic is not under control even if the cases are less than in Europe. Less than one percent of the total population has been vaccinated.
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