Monthly Archives: January 2022

The NHL is not sending players to the Beijing Olympics over concerns that the pandemic will disrupt the leagues ability to complete a full season.

Two people with direct knowledge of discussions told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the league informed the NHL Players Association it was exercising its right to withdraw from the Beijing Games because there was a material disruption to the season.

The people spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity because an announcement had yet to be made. An announcement was expected Wednesday.

The decision is an abrupt turnaround from September, when the NHL, union, International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation struck a deal to put the best players in the world back on sports biggest stage after they skipped the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. The fast-spreading omicron coronavirus variant forced the scrapping of those plans.

A week ago, the NHL attempted to halt the spread of the omicron variant by reintroducing more restrictive COVID-19 protocols, which included daily testing and limiting player gatherings, especially on the road.

Then a sudden rash of postponements brought the total to 50 this season, a daunting number to reschedule and complete an 82-game season while taking an Olympic break for more than two weeks in February. The NHLs bottom line is at stake, with the league and players drawing no direct money from competing at the Winter Games.

The decision comes long before the league faced a Jan. 10 deadline to pull out without financial penalty. As a result, the mens Olympic hockey tournament will go on without NHL players for the second consecutive time.

Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, the likely U.S. Olympic starter, expressed displeasure Tuesday with the decision not to go and called the rash of postponements overkill.

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby already was bracing for the possibility of the NHL not participating and, at the age of 34, ending what could be his final chance to represent Canada at the Olympics one more time.

These are opportunities and experiences of a lifetime that you dont get very many of as an athlete, and you might only get one, said Crosby, who won Olympic gold with Canada in 2010 and 2014. It just might happen to fall in your window and if it doesnt happen to work out, its unfortunate.

While the NHL and NHLPA agreed on Olympic participation last year as part of a collective bargaining agreement extension, the deal to go to Beijing was contingent on pandemic conditions not worsening.

Unless the Beijing Games are postponed a year like Tokyos, a generation of stars including American Auston Matthews, Canadians Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, German Leon Draisaitl and Swede Victor Hedman will need to wait until 2026 to play in the Olympic mens hockey tournament for the first time.

Its a thing youve been looking forward to for a very long time, Hedman said. For us to not be able to go, its going to hurt for a while.

The NHL was full go on the Olympics until the delta and omicron coronavirus variants began spreading around North America earlier this month. Before Calgarys outbreak in the first half of December, only five games needed to be rescheduled and one was already made up.

The NHL did not participate in the Olympics until 1998, which started a string of five in a row through Sochi in 2014. The season was not stopped in 2018, leaving mostly professionals playing in Europe and some college players to make up the national rosters in South Korea, where the IOC was reluctant to pay for insurance and expenses.

Russia, which won gold at the Pyeongchang Games, immediately becomes the favorite without NHL players leading the Americans thanks to an influx of homegrown talent playing in the Kontintental Hockey League.

Several NHL players already had expressed hesitations about participating, including Vegas goalie Robin Lehner, who pulled his name out of consideration to represent Sweden. Lehner cited mental health reasons in noting the potentially lengthy quarantines for athletes who test positive during the competition.

Im very disappointed and it was a tough decision for me as its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Reality is that what have been said about how its going to be is not ideal for my mental health, Lehner wrote in a text.

McDavid referred to the potential five-week quarantine requirement as unsettling.

Im still a guy thats wanting to go play in the Olympics, McDavid said. But we also want to make sure its safe for everybody. For all the athletes, not just for hockey players.

Pittsburghs Mike Sullivan will be missing his first opportunity to serve as coach of the U.S. national team. He had been holding out hope for NHL participation earlier Tuesday.

Were all human beings right. Emotions are a part of it. My hope is that we all have a chance to participate, said Sullivan, who served as an assistant coach on Peter Laviolettes staff at the 2006 Olympics. Its an unbelievable honor to represent your nation in the Olympics, its the honor of a lifetime quite honestly. And so I know I dont feel differently than a lot of people that pull their nations sweaters over their heads.

___

AP Sports Writer Will Graves contributed to this report.

___

More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Read more here:

AP sources: NHL to withdraw from Olympics after COVID ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday blamed previous governments for Indias Olympics medal drought in hockey, saying the country had to wait for it for decades due to indifference towards the sport.

Indias mens hockey team had won a Bronze in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo last year, 41 years after the country won a Gold in the category in the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

At a public meeting after laying the foundation stone for Major Dhyan Chand Sports University here, Modi said, The previous governments did not give importance to capabilities of the youth. It was the responsibility of the government that the mindset of society towards sports be changed. But, the opposite happened and a feeling of indifference towards most sports started increasing. The result was this that hockey, in which during the colonial era talented people like Major Dhyan Chand brought laurels to the country, in that we had to wait for decades to win a medal, he said.

Modi went on to say, The world hockey has moved from natural fields to AstroTurf. By the time we woke up, it was too late. And from training to team selection, at every level, there was nepotism, the game of caste, corruption at every step. There was discrimination and there was not an iota of transparency. Hockey is just an example. This was the story with every sport. Previous governments in the country could not prepare an excellent eco-system for evolving technology, changing demands and evolving skills, he said.

Also read: 'Meerut will make local sports talent global': PM Modi lays foundation stone of sports uni

Also read: India will fight Covid-19 pandemic with full caution, vigilance: PM Modi

Click here for IndiaToday.ins complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Continue reading here:

Previous govts to blame for Indias Olympics medal drought ...

An illuminated installation is pictured ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Register

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Just a week before the opening ceremony of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, U.S. television viewers can be forgiven for forgetting the date, or even that it is taking place in Beijing, China.

Unlike any Games in recent memory, the nearly 20 official international and national Olympic sponsors have laid low, ducking the press and viewers by holding back on the advertising blitz that typically kicks off months ahead the "let the Games begin" pronouncement.

By Wednesday, only two spots had launched, both of which focus on athletes with no mention of the host country, with which the United States is feuding on diplomatic and economic fronts.

Register

Over the course of the Games, ad agency executives and advertisers told Reuters that viewers should expect ads to continue to downplay the location and ignore any hint of politics to avoid drawing attention to geopolitical conflict and the hot glare of the Chinese government.

Corporate sponsors and advertisers for the Beijing Olympics, which begin on Feb. 4 and run through Feb. 20, have come under fire for what human rights groups say is the enabling of Chinas alleged abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in the country. China denies those allegations.

Global Olympic sponsors were grilled by a bipartisan congressional panel in July, which accused the companies of putting profits ahead of accusations of genocide in China.

The halo is tarnished, said Mark DiMassimo, founder of New York-based ad agency DiMassimo Goldstein, which represents brands that are not official sponsors but plan to air commercials during the Olympics.

He said his clients decided to strip from their campaigns mentions of traditional Olympic themes - friendly competition, global unity and good sportsmanship - shortly after the Biden administration announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics last month.

Bridgestone Corp (5108.T), an official sponsor of the International Olympic Committee, this month began airing a commercial featuring U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen, an Asian American, who advocates for authentic representation in skating, "no matter who you are or where you come from."

Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N), the official airline of Team USA, is airing two commercials spotlighting skiers, snowboarders and figure skaters who defy gravity in their events.

German financial services firm Allianz will have a film featuring winter athletes that will play on social media in the United States, a spokesperson said. Last year, Allianz filmed a short video about U.S. Paralympic athlete Matt Stutzman.

When Reuters asked the global and Team USA sponsors about marketing plans for the Olympics, only two responded, one of which declined to comment.

BIG DEPARTURE

This years response is a big departure from Olympics past, when advertisers crafted ads that embraced the spirit of the Games and honored the culture of the host country.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) last year aired a commercial for the Tokyo Olympics in which Japanese citizens showed famous parts of the city such as the Shibuya Crossing over a Teams call, sharing a piece of Tokyo for people who could not be there due to the pandemic.

A Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) ad for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics featured animated birds stealing straws from Coke drinks to build a replica of the famed Birds Nest stadium. But that was then.

With the political controversy and the pandemic once again preventing spectators from traveling to the Games, viewers this time around can expect to see fewer mentions of the host city, said Jeremy Carey, managing director of ad agency Optimum Sports, a unit of Omnicom Media Group.

Its a challenge, quite frankly, he said. The connection isnt as prevalent as it would normally be.

Focusing on the athletes competing on the global stage is considered the safest strategy for brands, experts said.

Were trying to steer clear of the geopolitical implications around (the Olympics), said Chris Brandt, chief marketing officer at Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N). Chipotle will run ads during the Olympics promoting real food for real athletes, and feature the preferred orders of competitors like U.S. ice hockey player Hilary Knight.

Any attempt for a brand to associate themselves with the Beijing Olympics could backfire, DiMassimo said. You just dont know. You put (the commercial) on, and it might explode.

Register

Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; editing by Kenneth Li and Bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read the original post:

What Olympics? Advertisers lie low ahead of Beijing Winter Games - Reuters

A man wearing a hat baring an American flag and face mask to help protect from the coronavirus walks by a masked security guard near lanterns decoration on the remnants of a city wall in Beijing, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Andy Wong/AP hide caption

A man wearing a hat baring an American flag and face mask to help protect from the coronavirus walks by a masked security guard near lanterns decoration on the remnants of a city wall in Beijing, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022.

BEIJING China is demanding the U.S. end "interference" in the Beijing Winter Olympics, which begin next month, in an apparent reference to a diplomatic boycott imposed by Washington and its allies.

The Foreign Ministry said Minister Wang Yi made the demand in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday Beijing time.

The U.S. has said it will not send dignitaries to the Games, which begin on Feb. 4, in a protest over China's detention of more than 1 million Uyghur Muslims in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, along with crackdowns on human rights elsewhere in the country.

The boycott does not prevent U.S. athletes from taking part in the Games, which are being held under strict anti-pandemic restrictions. China has also protested what it says are calls within the State Department to withdraw staff and their dependents from the embassy and consulates around China over the tightening rules.

According to a news release posted on the ministry's website Thursday, Wang also called for an end to U.S. support for self-governing Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

Wang also complained that the U.S. hasn't altered tough political and economic policies toward China under the administration of President Joe Biden, despite its expressed wishes for a less confrontational relationship.

A brief statement from the State Department said that Blinken and Wang exchanged views on how to manage strategic risk, health security and climate change. It did not mention the Olympics or Taiwan. Blinken underscored the economic and security risks posed by Russian aggression against Ukraine, the statement said.

The phone call follows the appointment of veteran diplomat Nicholas Burns as the new U.S. ambassador to China, a position that has remained empty for more than a year.

Original post:

China is demanding the U.S. end its 'interference' in Beijing Olympics - NPR

Axios on facebookAxios on twitterAxios on linkedinAxios on emailJason Brown of Team USA grew up in Highland Park. Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Team USA

The Chicago area will be well represented in Beijing when the 2022 Winter Olympics begin next week.

Women's hockey: The defending gold medal-winners will include six (SIX!) players from the area, including:

The men's hockey team will not include any Blackhawks, per the NHL prohibiting its players from participating due to COVID-19.

Figure skating (singles): Jason Brown (Highland Park) will participate in Men's Single Skating after winning bronze in the 2014 Olympics at 19 years old. He didn't make the team in 2018.

Figure skating (pairs): Alexa Knierim (Addison) will participate in pair skating.

Speed skating: The U.S. Speed Skating team has high expectations in Beijing. They could take home their most medals in two decades.

Ski jumping: The Chicago area produced three Olympic ski jumpers. Kevin Bickner, Patrick Gasienica and Casey Larson are all from the famed Norge Ski Club in Fox River Grove.

What's next: The Olympic Games begin next Friday, February 4.

Data: TeamUSA; Map: Axios Visuals

Support local journalism by becoming a member.

Learn more

No stories could be found

Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Chicago.

Support local journalism by becoming a member.

Learn more

Read this article:

13 Chicago area athletes competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics - Axios

BEIJING, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Beijing Winter Olympics kick off in a week, putting sports at centre-stage following preparations that have been clouded by diplomatic boycotts and the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced the Games into a tightly sealed bubble.

Beijing will become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games, and some venues from 2008 will be re-used, including the Bird's Nest stadium, where the opening ceremony will again be overseen by famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou.

Almost everything else is different.

Register

Where the 2008 Summer Games dazzled in what was a rising China's arrival on the world stage, the Winter Olympics will be staged by a country that has grown far wealthier, more powerful and, under President Xi Jinping, more authoritarian and increasingly at odds with the West.

In the COVID-19 era, China has isolated itself with a zero-tolerance policy, cancelling nearly all international flights, meaning Olympic athletes and others must fly directly into a Games bubble on charters.

As in 2008, the Olympics have again cast a spotlight on China's human rights record, which critics say has worsened since then, leading Washington to call Beijing's treatment of Uyghur Muslims genocide and prompting a diplomatic boycott from the United States and other countries.

China rejects allegations of abuse and has repeatedly lashed out against the politicisation of the Games.

"The 2008 Olympics were a powerful source of soft power for China as it aspired toward global influence. In the past year, China's reputation has dipped significantly in the western world," said Rana Mitter, a professor of Chinese history and politics at Oxford University.

"The Chinese Communist Party will be hoping that the Winter Olympics 2022 can do something to reverse this position."

However, the Games are set to kick off amid rising geopolitical tension, with troops mounted at the Ukraine border by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to be in Beijing, as is U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

A DIFFERENT TIME

On the streets of Beijing, the summer carnival buzz of 2008 has been replaced by resignation over restrictions imposed to head off the spread of COVID-19 from recent small clusters, including the more transmissable Omicron variant. read more

There is also disappointment among would-be spectators unable to buy tickets because none will be sold to the public. Instead, events will be attended by what are expected to be sparse, curated crowds subject to strict COVID-19 controls.

The Games will take place inside a "closed loop" that is much tighter than at last summer's Tokyo Games and will be tested by Omicron, which is running rampant in many western countries that are winter sports powers.

Some delegations, worried about information security, have warned members to bring burner phones.

Athletes and rights groups have also warned about risks of speaking out on politically sensitive topics while in China.

The scandal involving Chinese tennis star and former Olympian Peng Shuai, who accused a retired senior politician of sexually assaulting her and then disappeared for several weeks, added fuel to criticism of China's hosting of the event.

While Peng later said her social media post was misunderstood, the Women's Tennis Association, concerned for her well-being, suspended tournaments in China.

One U.S. Olympian told Reuters that she would not be speaking out on human rights because she believed doing so would put her safety at risk.

"I think China has shown - with Peng Shuai most recently - that they are willing to go to really extreme measures to silence any sort of rhetoric that they find displeasing," she said, declining to be named given the sensitivity of the matter.

A Chinese official said recently that behaviour by athletes that violates the Olympic spirit or Chinese rules could be subject to punishment, although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made it clear that athletes are free to express their opinions in press conferences and interviews within the bubble, but not in competition or medal ceremonies.

SAFE CHOICE

Beijing was awarded the right in 2015 to host the 2022 Winter Games after several bid candidates dropped out, including favourite Oslo, leaving just the Chinese capital and Almaty, Kazakhstan. Despite little winter sports tradition and even less snow, the IOC selected Beijing as the safe choice.

China rewarded that confidence with efficient preparation despite concerns about the environmental impact of massive snowmaking. read more It has delivered on cleaning Beijing's notoriously smog-prone skies and planted vast numbers of trees.

Unlike Tokyo's Summer Games, delayed a year by COVID-19, there has never been much doubt that the Beijing Games would take place - no matter what.

"I feel like the 2008 Olympic Games was very grand, it was a spectacular show to the world," said Ye Wenxiaoyu, a 20-year-old Games volunteer. "This year's Winter Olympics will be very simple and very low-carbon - but of course, this will not affect how wonderful it will be."

Register

Reporting by Tony MunroeAdditional reporting by Michael Martina in Washington and Gabriel Crossley and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; Editing by Michael Perry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

View original post here:

Amid pandemic and protest, Olympics return to a changed China - Reuters

What does it mean to be a good person?

It's not a question you'd expect someone to be asking themselves when they're deciding whether or not to watch the Olympic Games.

But this year, that question's feeling more relevant than ever.

The Opening Ceremony for the Beijing Winter Olympics is just over a week away.

Traditionally, these events bring a lot of political good will. But not this time around.

The U.S. and several other countries have announced their diplomats won't be attending the games over China's record of human rights abuses. But athletes and coaches are still encouraged to attend, and the games will still air on television.

That leaves many wondering, should I watch this year? Or should I be boycotting the games too?

Soundside spoke to four people that are determining that for themselves.

In fact, that's how Phil Shyrock got involved.

"Curling has really gone from this esoteric thing I wanted to try once upon a time to something that kind of dominates my life from a social perspective."

The sport brought Shylock new friends, including current club president, Lori Markham. It also brought a deeper connection to the Olympics - the US national curling coach goes to Granite Curling, and both Markham and Shylock are friends with other Olympic curlers as well.

So, when they consider whether or not to watch the games, it comes down to supporting their curling family.

"It feels a lot like nobody cares about what the athletes have done to get to that point," says Markham. "That makes me angry. Does it prevent me from watching? No. But when in the quiet moments when I'm by myself, and I'm thinking about it, those are the things that I think about."

To Markham and Shyrock, choosing between their friends or their political beliefs feels unfair. How do you decide what's right? Or what to stand behind?

For both curlers, it's about the personal connection they've made through the sport, and seeing a sport they love on the big screen.

For Alex Tang, being a good person means paying attention.

Tang is a teacher at Seattle Central College. He attended the 2019 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, and organized supporting demonstrations here in Seattle.

He says you can't separate the games and the politics. Even if you're an athlete.

"They're being complicit in regards to what is happening with human rights injustices and violations, and China and what the Communist Chinese party is doing." Says Tang. "And it's just really upsetting for me. Because while I understand their position, like they've been training all their life, you need to look at the optics and the political welfare between the US and China. And I see where these athletes are coming from. But there's a bright line, there's a line that should not be caught crossed."

Tang watched the Olympics last time they were in Beijing, back in 2008.

But he says this year, he'll be keeping his distance.

Ludlow is a 2006 Olympic alpine skier. Nowadays she's a leadership consultant and childrens book author.

And she says many of these athletes have been working towards these games for years. You want to take the chance to be in the Olympics when you have it - because it might not happen again.

"Particularly as a winter athlete, you only have a small window of time when your body is at its peak form. For many of these athletes, these Beijing Olympics are going to be their shot, whether it's the only Olympics they go to, or the only Olympics that they'll go to when they're kind of in peak physical form."

Ludlow says she will be watching this year's Olympic Games. Because, she says, the world deserves a moment of unity. Even if it comes with political tensions.

"I feel like the world actually deserves to have this one positive occasion that we can all actually look to for inspiration. After all the Olympic values are excellence, respect and friendship. I mean, if we can look to that demonstration of courage and effort and skill, and passion and remarkable athleticism in their purest form, we have an opportunity to draw inspiration from that. I think that our world could really benefit from that right now."

Excerpt from:

When the Winter Olympics become a moral quandary - KUOW News and Information

You can put this on the record. Those guys are such great humans, such great people. Weve developed a great bond over the last few years and I was really looking forward to that journey with them.

John Morris is speaking passionately about the Australian mixed doubles team.

The two-time Olympic champion has one regret about the upcoming Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Okaytwo regrets. The first is that he wont get to coach Australias youthful Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt in Beijing, as hes been doing all season. The second is that his upcoming battle against them, which is scheduled near the end of the mixed doubles round robin on Feb. 6, will take a toll on him.

This journey isnt over, even though I cant coach them there, but that will no doubt be my most difficult game to play at the Olympics, said Morris. I have trouble playing against great friends who I have a lot of respect for, and its hard for me to get that killer instinct with really good friends and I consider those two really good friends of mine.

So that will be my toughest game to play, mentally. But at the end of the day, Im wearing the red and white and Im playing for my country, and that trumps all.

Morris is following in his fathers footsteps. The famous curling coach nicknamed Earle the Pearlwho has coached both his son and Homans womens team in the pastalso coached the Australian mens team back in the mid-2000s, a squad that included Hewitts father.

In fact, that teamskipped by Hugh Milliken with Ian Palangio throwing last stonesmissed a shot to beat Randy Ferbey and knock him (and Pfeifer) out of the 2005 world playoffs in Victoria, B.C. The Canadians finished in a wild six-way tie at 8-3 and eventually won the championship.

That game in Beijing will be a great game to watch, no doubt, adds Morris. Theyve really developed a lot this year as curlers. Besides that game against them, Ill be cheering wholeheartedly for them.

Morris was with Gill and Hewitt at the Olympic Qualification Event in Leeuwarden, Netherlands in early December when the Aussies rolled to seven straight victories, including a sudden-death Olympic qualifier ov er Korea.

As Gillswinning stone settled and the Aussies began to celebrate, Morris grabbed fellow Australia coach Pete Manasantivongs in a reverse bear hug before dashing down to ice level.

Steve Seixeiro-WCF

Moments before, Gill and Hewitt had called a time out before their final throw. Morris suggested Gill throw a different turn on her winning stone, based on familiarity of the running path and speed. She took the advice and the shot wasexecutedperfectly.

We asked (Morris) to coach us because we wanted to be coached by the best, said Hewitt, 27. Were grateful he played a big part in helping us qualify for the Olympics. His experience and knowledge has been crucial for us growing as athletes.

Its so great to have a coach who you can go on adventures with off-ice too, and hes treated us like family.

Gill and Hewitt bade farewell to their friends and family members back in September of 2021, and have been based near Morris in Canmore, Alta. ever since. Even the appointment of Morris and mixed doubles teammate Rachel Homan to the Canadian Olympic Team hasnt changed the preparation routine very much.

If he stares, he cares Steve Seixeiro-WCF

Theyre still training with me, and we pretty much leave (for Beijing) on the same day, said Morris. Its perfect, weve even got some good hard games against them. Its almost like were training partners, which I think is ideal.

Morris has been sharing a cabin with Homan and Pfeifer in an isolated area of Canmore. Over the past two weeks the squads new Twitter feed has proudly displayed a variety of alternative Olympic training techniquesice fishing and snowshoeing among them.

Such is the high-performance life in a pandemic.

We knew it would be a high possibility we could be competing against John at the Olympics and we were prepared for it, said the 22-year-old Gill. We are so excited to compete against John and Rachel, I think it will be a really fun game. Theyre a great team and we always want to play against the best to get better ourselves.

Were having a really good time, keeping it light, said Morris back in December.

I think Canadians and Australians are kindred spirits that way. We enjoy a lot of the same things and are pretty laid back.

Its been a really good relationship and Im really proud of them.

Twitter

Morris is grateful to the Canmore Golf and Curling Club for providing the Canadians and Australians with private ice in isolation.

Its tough to find a great facility and great conditions, but here it is,Morris said.These friendly matches are helping get us both battle-ready in lieu of no trials or events leading up to the Olympics.

Departure is just a day or so away. How about some medal predictions, John?

No way, its such a deep field this year, Morris said. Its going to be such a great Games to watch. Every games going to be an absolute battle.

Read more from the original source:

My Toughest Game At The Olympics - Sports Illustrated

COVIDThe budget for Olympic-specific operations to host the Games is expected to be about $4 billion. Ng Han Guan / Associated Press

By GRAHAM DUNBAR, Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) The finance model for the Winter Olympics calls for the host country to spend several billion dollars, the IOC to earn a couple billion, and sports bodies to share around hundreds of millions.

Fortunately for China, turning a profit from the 2022 Beijing Games was not a priority even before the coronavirus pandemic wiped out some expected sources of income.

Chinese President Xi Jinping set a goal in 2015 to create a new tourism industry in the country.

It will inspire over 300 million Chinese to participate in winter sports if we win, which will contribute greatly to the development of the international Olympic cause, Xi said back then, according to Chinas official Xinhua news agency.

The buildup to the Olympics, which open on Feb. 4 and close 16 days later, has brought high-speed train lines that will carry athletes to new ski resorts outside Beijing. For the next few decades, those same train lines will be shuttling Chinese tourists to the mountains.

Russia reportedly spent $51 billion on the 2014 Sochi Games, a price tag that is expected to stand as an Olympic record for many years. That huge amount made European voters nervous about hosting in the future and led the IOC to review how Games are awarded and organized.

But Chinas motivation, like Russia in 2014, is a state-backed plan to create domestic leisure and tourism sectors with the big-ticket item again being a city-to-mountains transport system.

China allocated more than $9 billion for a high-speed rail linking Beijing to nearby ski resorts in Zhangjiakou and Yangqing, where ski slopes have been carved out of mountains that get little natural snow.

The budget for Olympic-specific operations to host the Games is expected to be about $4 billion. Venues built in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics have been repurposed. The Water Cube for swimming is now the Ice Cube for curling.

Still, the overall investment on winter sports has been significant since Beijing won its Olympic bid seven years ago.

China now has more than 650 ice rinks and 800 ski resorts, China Daily reported this month, citing the National Winter Sports Administrative Center. Those numbers mark rises of 317% and 41%, respectively, since 2015.

China would have expected modest revenue from relatively few international visitors for the Winter Games even before the pandemic made their trips impossible.

Tickets also arent being sold to residents of China, taking another of the hosts income streams. The IOCs own figures show the highest Winter Games ticketing revenue was $250 million at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, which sold 1.5 million tickets.

Host city organizing committees keep income from domestic sponsor deals they negotiate. Sochi set the Winter Games record with almost $1.2 billion from 46 sponsors.

The Beijing organizing committees website currently lists 44 commercial partners, nearly all Chinese, in four tiers that include suppliers of goods and services. The 11 top-tier partners include Air China and Bank of China.

Sales of merchandizing such as gloves and mascots, worth $79 million to Pyeongchang in 2018, also top up local organizers income.

Still, the most important number has at least officially already been reached. The National Bureau of Statistics said this month the target of engaging 300 million people in winter sports had been hit.

The IOC gets billions of dollars from broadcasters around the world and from sponsors who get exclusive global rights.

Beijing is the first of American broadcaster NBCs $7.75 billion, six-Olympics deal through 2032. It was said when signed eight years ago to be worth a combined $2.5 billion for the 2022 Beijing Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Summer Olympics bring in about twice as much as the Winter Games.

The IOC now has 13 top-tier sponsors, including Chinese companies Alibaba and Mengniu, which is in the soft drinks category along with Coca-Cola. It was 11 for Sochi and Rio de Janeiro when their combined value was $1 billion in cash and services in 2014 and 2016.

The so-called TOP program is set to be worth about $3 billion for 2021-24, IOC president Thomas Bach told members last March. It was unclear if that reflected Tokyo being pushed back as host into 2021.

The IOC is giving $880 million toward Beijing organizers costs. Thats only a few million less than Pyeongchang organizers got four years ago.

The IOC also shared $215 million from its 2018 Olympic revenue among the seven governing bodies of Winter Games sports skiing, skating, hockey, biathlon, bobsled, curling and luge.

In their 2020 accounts, the International Ski Federation listed $13 million as its Olympic payment and the International Skating Union noted more than $11 million.

Another $215 million was distributed among national Olympic committees. Of the 206 NOCs, 92 competed in Pyeongchang.

The 2,900 athletes at the Beijing Olympics do not get prize money from the IOC for competing or winning medals. Some of what the IOC pays sports bodies can trickle down to athletes, however.

The IOC will put $590 million into the Olympic Solidarity fund for the 2021-24 period. That will give grants to train athletes, coaches and administrators. Less wealthy countries are prioritized.

The IOC said 420 athletes from 78 teams were awarded scholarships to help qualify and prepare for this years Olympics. The program had a $10 million budget for the 2018 edition.

In some countries, Olympic medalists get cash or gifts from sports bodies and governments.

The U.S. Olympic teams Operation Gold program has paid $37,500 for a gold medal, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze.

Russia has a tradition of wealthy supporters rewarding Olympic success. Gold medalists at the Sochi Olympics were given $120,000 and an SUV.

Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.

The rest is here:

China spends billions on Olympics with longer-term goal - Boston.com

A supervisor in Germanys Olympic delegation has tested positive for the coronavirus within the closed loop in Beijing, the German Olympic Sports Confederation said on Thursday, confirming one of the first cases connected to an athletic team within the bubblelike environment meant to shield participants from the rest of the world.

The positive case was identified on Sunday after a P.C.R. test administered in Zhangjiakou, where many of the snow events will take place about 100 miles northwest of Beijing, the confederation said. The supervisor is asymptomatic and is currently in a quarantine hotel, it said.

Beijing officials said on Thursday that eight new cases had been detected in the bubble as of the previous day. Fifteen others were found among airport arrivals of Games-related personnel. None were linked to an athlete or a team official.

Since Jan. 4, 50 cases have been identified in the closed loop, according to official data. Officials have linked one of them to an athlete or team official. Among airport arrivals, 79 cases have been detected, data show. One was an athlete or team official, and the rest were other stakeholders, officials said.

Some athletes, including those from the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Norway, have received positive tests before departing for the Olympics, resulting in delayed travel and throwing into question their chance of competing in the Games.

Josh Williamson, an athlete of the Team USA bobsled team, said on Instagram on Wednesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday and would not board the rest of the delegations flight to Beijing on Thursday.

One athlete, the Russian figure skater Mikhail Kolyada, was withdrawn from his team after testing positive, the Olympics committee said on Tuesday.

The Games are scheduled to start on Feb. 4.

See the article here:

Covid Case in Beijing Olympic Bubble Is Linked to a German Team - The New York Times