Ethics In The Olympics

The Olympics have shown over the decades that they can be affected by political conflict. However, it seems that this is the point of the Olympics, to illustrate national pride, by competition. Bloodshed should not be the way for pride of one’s country to be shown, but it should be shown through competition, in the words of the founder of the modern Olympic movement, Pierre de

Ever since its inception in 1896, the Modern Olympics has hosted an invisible sport: politics. The Olympics calls for “a halt to all conflicts … [and to] strive towards a more peaceful world,” but politics soon spoiled its biennial message. “As the Olympics continue to dissolve into … a political competition … they no longer … justify the time and trouble,” Dave Anderson, Pulitzer Prize winner for his sports column, wrote in the New York Times in 1984. The Olympic spirit has routinely been used as an outlet for political agendas. With political and Olympic ambitions intersected, the great international sports festivity negatively affects all nations involved.

There are quite a few factors that shaped the modern-day Olympics from 1892 to 2002. Pierre de Coubertin states that he wanted to create the Olympics to spread world peace. He does this by substituting war for friendly sports competitions (doc 1). Of course, there were some bumps in the road while trying to achieve this utopia. Some factors that have changed the Olympics are the allowing of women being able to compete in the Olympics, women’s suffrage, nationalism, wars, and economic conditions (doc 2-7).

Starting with Document 3, we are shown how the Nazi’s took the Olympic Games during the period of World War 2. Document 3 shows that the Nazi’s interpreted the Olympic games as a competition showing what countries have the most power in the world. Since during World War 2, The Nazi’s were trying to spread their ideas and beliefs to the world and they thought a good way to do this was the Olympic Games since their interpretation of the Olympic Games was a way to show a country's supremacy. In the end, The Nazi’s were provoked to cheat as they were caught practicing a course before the course was to be presented. In the end, the world was shown what would happen when national conflicts are brought into the Olympic games.

Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, believed that the Olympics were the true free trade of the future (Doc 1).” In 1892, at a time when Europe was showing rising political tensions, he may have thought this would be a good idea to help calm these tensions (Doc 1). Countries chosen to host the event benefit from the exposure. Japan, for example, greatly appreciated their being chosen for the Olympics. They felt it helped them recover after their defeat in the World War. This sense of appreciation for being chosen shows that the Olympic intentions were definitely good willed and did not just expose nations political tensions (Doc 5).

As a sporting mega-event, the Olympic Games have numerous social impacts on the people, not only on those from the host country, but on individuals all over the globe.

The Olympic Games are recognized globally by billions of people. This event is the biggest sporting event not only because it comes once every four years, but also because the world’s best athletes come together to compete for world fame and glory. Hosting the games seems like an honor for most people, however there is numerous risks involved

The Olympics now have various organizations and committees delegated to testing for and eliminating the use of performance enhancing drugs. The most recent Olympic committee for the Games in Vancouver was partnered with the World Anti-Doping Agency, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, L’Institut national de la recherche scientifique — Institut Armand-Frappier, the United States Anti-Doping Agency, and LifeLabs to collect and test approximately 2450 blood and urine samples (“Anti-Doping Initiatives”). Their meticulousness and commitment was most definitely justified. Olympic athletes implicitly agree to a social contract of fair competition. Those athletes who take steroids have an unfair advantage over those who do not, and therefore these athletes are breaking this social contract.

"The Olympics are a wonderful metaphor for world cooperation, the kind of international competition that's wholesome and healthy, an interplay between countries that represents the best in all of us,” said John Williams, the composer for theme music for the Olympics (8). The Olympic Games are international sports festivals that began in ancient Greece. The first ancient Olympics can be traced back to 776 BC when people held this religious festival to honour Zeus, the father of all the Greek gods and goddesses. The participants were male citizens from Greece, and these athletes participated in only one event — foot race. Unfortunately, this ancient Olympics did not last forever. The first olympic in 776 BC in Olympia was an significant event

The Olympic Charter reads: “Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole, the qualities of body, will and mind” ("Olympic movement medical," 2009). The execution of this moral statement can be exalted through the provided medical services and personnel that deliver such services during the Olympic Games. The Medical Commission, as an ordinance from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), aims to provide legislature to protect the health and well-being of each Olympic athlete (“The Medical Commission”, 2014). Its mission began in 1967, and since its inception, the intentions of the medical commission were to protect the health of all athletes (“The Medical Commission”, 2014). 47 years later, the medical

What should enrage people, is the fact that the athletes are rolling in the dough for playing a game. Taking a deep thought about getting payed for partaking in a game is ridiculous.What should enrage people, is the fact that the athletes are rolling in the dough for playing a game. Taking a deep thought about getting payed for partaking in a game is ridiculous.What should enrage people, is the fact that the athletes are rolling in the dough for playing a game. Taking a deep thought about getting payed for partaking in a game is ridiculous.

However, because the game was linked to religious beliefs in honoring the Greek God Zeus. Everyone near and far attended the games and during that time a special truce was created between cite states to ensure safe travel from cite- state to cite-state. For many part-taking in the Olympic was their way of bringing honor the their community, a lifelong dream or serving their gods proudly. The athletes of the Olympic game were put through vigorous training and exercise. Attendants of the games were to arrive four weeks in advance, and undergo a full month of training. Most competitors of the game had to however prove that they were morally, spiritually

Don’t go into this one only expecting a story behind the Olympics. There is more here of hopes, dreams, accomplishments as well as fulfillments and disappointments and yet at the heart of it all lies the reality that family is first. The story travels through time of 1983 to 2012 covering the family of Elizabeth and Mario along with their son Andre. Elizabeth and Mario have traveled the world over setting up Olympics but with the birth of Andre Elizabeth becomes a stay at home mom and that bond that develops between the two. Mario remains traveling and deals with the pain of sacrifice of giving his son the best childhood has to offer. However, the story doesn’t end there as Andre grows so does his love of cycling and how he must overcome his

The Olympic Games are a set of friendly competitions that bring countries from all around the world together, but many social, political, and economic problems in the past and present including racial and sexual discrimination and apartheid have prevented the Olympic Games from fulfilling their promise to bring countries together.

Would you agree that the Olympics are less about sports and more about nationalism and commercialism?