On Friday, 2,900 athletes from around 90 countries will gather in Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. The Games unite the world for a few weeks, athletes bond and countries banter about medal counts. The International Olympic Committee likes to think the Games exist outside of politics; they simply don’t. When athletes are sent to compete for their country, it is impossible for the Games not be political.
The IOC is committed to “building a better world through sport,” while ignoring everything that is going on within and between countries. In 2024, before the Paris Summer Olympics, the IOC released a statement directly saying it is against the politicization of sport. This is ironic because some of the most influential political moments have occurred at the Olympics.
In 1936, Adolf Hitler used the Berlin Olympics to spread his theories of racial supremacy across the world, just to see it shatter when Jesse Owens, a Black man, was the first to take home four gold medals in Olympic track history. At the Mexico City Games in 1968, Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists during the podium ceremony to symbolize Black power.
The 1976 Montreal Olympics saw more than 20 African and Arab countries boycotting the Games because of New Zealand's links to apartheid South Africa. Then again, in 1980, what is known as “Miracle on Ice” happened, in which the U.S. team beat the Soviet Union, a pivotal turning point in the Cold War. Even in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, the U.S. imposed a diplomatic boycott of the Games.
These are just a few moments in Olympic history where politics come into play at the Games. Though the Games do maintain a “no politics” atmosphere, the IOC banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing under their countries' flags at the Games until further notice.
Previously, Russia competed under the Russian Olympic Committee due to previous doping scandals. However, in 2024, it was announced that athletes from Russia and Belarus must compete as Independent Neutral Athletes due to their involvement in the invasion of Ukraine. It’s important to note that these bans were not handed out because of the invasion of Ukraine, but rather, because Russia had taken over Ukraine's Olympic organizations.
The IOC believes athletes shouldn’t be punished for the wrongdoing of their home countries. While it is true that these athletes aren’t the ones making decisions in government, it’s hypocritical to say that the athletes are separate from their country while actively representing it.
Think about it this way: while the Games showcase the athleticism of every country, almost every athlete arrives wearing their country's flag on their chest, coat or uniform, and at every medal ceremony, the athletes are draped in their country's colors, inherently representing the government of the country they represent.
The Games simply don’t exist outside of politics. The international competition is funded by the host governments, structured under the rules of who is allowed to compete and under what flag, and is an event on an international stage that can’t be separated from the politics of the world.
Cassie is a senior studying communications at Ohio University. Please note the views expressed in this column do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Cassie? Email her at cb086021@ohio.edu.
