International Olympic Committee

Thomas Bach, IOC President, Rebukes a Chinese Official Over Political Comments

Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, issued what amounted to a rare and surprising rebuke of a Chinese Olympic official during a news conference Friday. His remarks came after Yan Jiarong, a spokeswoman for the Beijing Olympics, made comments at a news conference the previous day that seemed to violate Olympic rules […]

Peng Shuai Meets IOC Leader at Winter Olympics

Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis player who largely disappeared from public life after making sexual abuse accusations against a political official in November, held a private meeting with Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, in Beijing over the weekend. The two had dinner on Saturday at the Olympic Club and were joined […]

At Beijing Olympics, Question of Free Speech Looms Over Athletes

BEIJING — The conversation at the Wukesong Sports Center veered dangerously from the growth and speed of women’s hockey toward the question of political statements at the Olympic Games. Hilary Knight, wrapping up practice ahead of her fourth Olympic appearance for the United States, paused, glanced around, and chose her words carefully. “I think it’s […]

How China’s Xi Jinping Is Staging the Beijing Olympics on His Terms

When the International Olympic Committee met seven years ago to choose a host for the 2022 Winter Games, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, sent a short video message that helped tip the scale in a close, controversial vote. China had limited experience with winter sports. Little snow falls in the distant hills where outdoor events would […]

China Won’t Sell Olympics Tickets to Chinese Public

China had already barred foreign spectators from attending the Winter Games that begin in Beijing in less than a month. On Monday, it announced that most Chinese people won’t be able to attend either. Citing the evolving threat from the coronavirus pandemic, the Beijing 2022 organizing committee announced that it was ending ticket sales to […]

Faced With Questions About Forced Labor in China, the I.O.C. Is Tight-Lipped

Informal efforts to arrange a conversation between the I.O.C. and the Coalition to End Forced Labor in the Uyghur Region — a group of more than 300 organizations established last year — began in May, according to Mr. Freeman. Finally, in the fall, the I.O.C. invited the coalition to send a formal request to meet, […]

As Olympics Near, China Tightens Rules and Athletes Invent Their Own

Athletes and sports officials around the world have for months been viewing the approaching Winter Olympics in Beijing, set to take place in February amid a still-raging pandemic, with a mixture of apprehension and weariness. Now, a global surge of cases tied to the highly contagious Omicron variant has given them all the more reason […]

Paris 2024 Floats Openness After Two Closed-Door Olympics

Organizers of the Paris Games on Monday approved a plan to hold the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Games in the middle of the city instead of in a stadium, an unusual and symbolic shift to openness and accessibility after what is likely to be two consecutive Olympics largely closed to the public. Paris […]

A Diplomatic Boycott of the Winter Olympics Isn’t Enough

The decision by President Biden to have his administration steer clear of the Beijing Winter Olympics is not enough. With the Games two months away and the host country’s ugly record on human rights well in view once again, more needs to be done to send China a message that it operates outside the bounds […]