An Olympic Antidoping Champion
Document Type
Letter to the Editor
Journal Title
New York Times
Publication Date
6-16-2016
Abstract
The International Olympic Committee recently announced that 10 refugee athletes from troubled or war-torn nations would be allowed to compete in the summer Olympic Games. The committee believes that the group, officially known as the Refugee Olympic Team, will serve as a “symbol of hope” in Rio de Janeiro.
The I.O.C.’s action to field a refugee team is an example of the Games’ spirit at its best — using sport to transcend politics and promote human dignity. The decision also comes at a crucial moment when the Olympic movement’s fundamental values seem under attack. Few issues exemplify the crisis more than the allegations of state-supported doping in Russia.
For this reason, the International Olympic Committee and the International Association of Athletics Federations must use their authority to grant a similar special eligibility status to another athlete. In this competitor’s case, it is not because she has been forced to flee a conflict zone, but because her moral actions have helped to preserve the integrity of the Olympic movement itself.
Recommended Citation
Dionne Koller, An Olympic Antidoping Champion, The New York Times (June 16, 2016), http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/16/opinion/an-olympic-antidoping-champion.html?_r=0