Yang Yang: Games purely stage for athletes

Yang Yang, China's first-ever Winter Olympics gold medalist and chair of Beijing 2022's athletes' commission, says the Games should purely be a stage for athletes, not a platform for politics.

The United States has announced that it will not send any government officials to Beijing 2022, citing so-called human rights issues.

However, the Olympic Charter states: "Sports organizations within the Olympic Movement shall apply political neutrality," and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) opposes "any political or commercial abuse of sport and athletes".

"It's sad to see this happen. The Olympic Games is being used by some as a tool for political ends,"Yang said of the US decision.

"The politicization of sports and the use of the Olympic Games as a vehicle for political purposes by individual politicians undoubtedly breaches the Olympic Charter. The Olympic Games should not be a political show as it runs counter to the Olympic spirit.

"The Olympic Games is a stage for the athletes, as their fighting spirit will inspire more people to face challenges positively and work hard to solve difficulties, especially for kids who look up to athletes as role models."

Yang stressed that, based on IOC regulations and Olympic practice, heads of state and government officials are usually invited and registered by a National Olympic Committee (NOC) to attend the Olympic Games and related events as guests.

She said that describing non-attendance of government officials as a "boycott" is a misnomer if those officials have not been invited in the first place.

Yang noted that there is total support for Beijing 2022 among the Olympic Family. Athletes, including those from the United States, are eager to compete in China.

"I noticed that World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said not sending diplomatic or official representatives to attend the Beijing Winter Olympic Games would only serve as a meaningless gesture and would be very damaging," said the former short-track speed skater.

Yang added that Australian Olympic Committee president and IOC vice-president John Coates described the Olympics as the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition.

At a time when COVID-19 is still spreading around the globe and the world economy is floundering, Yang believes hosting the Olympic Games encourages mankind to work together to fight the pandemic and put into practice the Olympic motto of "Faster, Higher, Stronger－Together".

"The Olympic Games will be the light at the end of the tunnel," Yang said. "As an Olympian and chair of the athletes' commission of Beijing 2022, I want to sincerely say to the Olympic athletes that we are ready to welcome the best athletes from all over the world to meet in Beijing and rekindle the Olympic spirit once again."

Xinhua