Olympic drama – torch arrives in Beijing amidst protest, Tokyo Games athletes finally return home

by Seth Udinski

Seth Udinski, FISM News

 

The summer and winter Olympic games are some of the most publicized events in the sports calendar. Unfortunately the International Olympic Committee has been wrought with corruption and dysfunction, and the Games themselves almost always have some sort of controversy surrounding one or more of the countries

On Wednesday, in preparation for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, the Olympic torch arrived to the host city and was lit as part of the customary ceremony.

These Olympics are particularly controversial, as many believe China should not be given the privilege to host the games due to its mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and rumors of genocide. Earlier this week, FISM News reported that several activists protested the torch-lighting ceremony in Beijing and in Athens. Many politicians and scientists blame China for the virus itself, as some have speculated that it began in a research lab in Wuhan.

This will be Beijing’s second Olympic Games in the last two decades, as the city also hosted the 2008 Summer Olympic Games as well.

To add another level of dysfunction, one nation’s athletes just returned home from the summer games after months in quarantine. The Cook Islands team was delayed on its return journey after the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games due to various pandemic restrictions. The games ended in early August, but the team did not return to their home country until last week.

The team left for Tokyo in late July and returned home in mid-October after a shocking 13-week journey, on a trip that was only supposed to last roughly three weeks.

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