Does it matter that there is so much controversy in the olympic games?

Question

Or not? Apart from the opening ceremony which was marvelous by the way.. Each day has been a controversy after the other. Its like I am waiting for something crazy to happen each day in some event. ehat do you think?

Answer 1

I think that in some ways it takes away from the "community international spirit" of the thing when everyday there is some kind of problem.



For instance the Chinese athlete who got condoned for suspected drug use, just because she was 7 seconds ahead of the guys! I think it was really unfair to jump to conclusions when there was absolutely no evidence to suggest that she had, considering everyone has to have drug tests before they race!



However, its really exciting and I'm really enjoying watching it and reading all the Olympic news :)

Answer 2

It's how the IOC and their officials handle it is where it really counts.

I think an interpreter would be good to have for the non english speakers as most of those caught up in the controversy didn't really understand.



It does get exciting when theirs a bit of controversy and rather interesting to find out what the actual rules are - by the way the Korean fencer's controversy was (after it was explained) hard luck to her but a fair call.

Answer 3

The press love a scandal as that sells newspapers like bad news will sell newspapers one day we hear there are a load of empty seats then suddenly a lot of them are almost full .

The shops in london are doing badly because nobody is shopping there so what do they want people to watch the olympics or go shopping in london they cant do both at the same time.

Answer 4

Yes its important. the Olympic games supposed to be a show of camaraderie and sportsmanship among athletes from different nations but has been tainted by politics, corporate corruption and oligarchy (the sponsors and the olympic brand) and the arrogance of judges to admit mistakes and judge fairly and of coarse doping in the olympics.



Oh no! I have put the olympic brand in a bad light even though I am just freely expressing myself through criticism and opinion. Let true Olympic Spirit prevail.

Answer 5

Nobody is 'picking' on the Korean team. It was a volunteer who hung the wrong flag. Flag protocol is not studied at our universities in England. Just a mistake, thats all. Now, if your Badmington squad choose to ignore the Olympic pledge, which you took, what did you expect? Think about the paying public, they paid £80 to watch high calibre sport. Neither team obliged.

Answer 6

It's silly season for the newspapers, etc, so they've got to fill-up with something. Trying to get 240 nations to agree on the rules of sport is bound to be problematic, even without any accusations of cheating or drug use.

Answer 7

What about that female olympic athlete who run a 10.5 a few decades ago. Are Americans going to deny she was on steroids?

Answer 8

There is always controversy at every Olympics, we just forget about them.



In 2008, the last Olympics in China there were many controversies which included;



Controversy about China's record of human rights, with calls for boycotts



the levels of air pollution due both to concerns about athletes' health and concerns that Beijing had failed to live up to promises it made during its Olympic bid.



The gymnastics competition caused a major worldwide controversy during and after the games when some Chinese gymnasts were accused of being under the minimum age, but then cleared after an investigation.



ticketing problems



Security problems due to civil unrest in Tibet and terrorist attacks by Xinjiang separatists.



displacement of Beijing residents due to construction and demolitions.



Then the 2004 Olympics in Athens was exactly the same;



Approximately 70,000 police officers patrolled Athens and the Olympic venues during the Olympics. NATO and the European Union also provided minor support, after Athens asked for co-operation.



Greek authorities announced that a roof it had initially proposed as an optional, non-vital addition to the Aquatics Center would no longer be built.



From fencing to swimming to equestrian to gymnastics, hands have been wringing and protests flying over judges and scoring. The cacophony culminated in a surreal scene as U.S. gymnast Paul Hamm, already caught in the eye of a storm over his all-around gold medal, had to wait nearly 10 minutes to begin his high bar routine while fans lustily booed the score given to the previous competitor, Russian Alexei Nemov.



While Hamm waited, the overall score changed before everyone's eyes, to 9.762 from 9.725 (out of a perfect 10), after two judges, one from Malaysia and the other from Canada, raised their marks. Nemov finished in fifth place but afterward said he "would like to thank all these people for what they did."



the IOC's decision to give the Canadians duplicate gold medals after a French judge said she had been "pressured" to score a Russian pair higher. "It was a case of clear corruption and manipulation,



Russia complained about the scoring that cost gymnast Svetlana Khorkina a gold medal in the women's all-around competition and kept Alexei Nemov off the medal stand in the high bar finals. Fans protested Nemov's high bar score, and judges relented and boosted Nemov's score. He still finished fifth.



American swimmer Aaron Peirsol was disqualified after winning the 200 backstroke. The decision was overturned 30 minutes later. The mix-up was because of a blank judges' report.



Hungarian fencing referee Joszef Hidasi was expelled from the Games and suspended for two years after making errors during the gold medal match in men's team foil. Hidasi made mistakes in six scoring decisions — all favoring gold medalist Italy, which beat China.



Germany lost its gold medal in the three-day equestrian team event after protests by France, Britain and the USA.

Answer 9

In gymnastics? YES, I don't know what's going on in this Olympics but it seems like there's cheating. Hmmm -__- Seems weird..

Answer 10

if there were no asians in the competition there'd be no controversy.

Answer 11

To me, this year olympics is just crap.

Maybe cause I'm korean and they have been picking on the koreans a lot but.

Just my opinion.

Answer 12

She beat her fastest ever time by 5 seconds and the Chinese are already known for cheating. Why do you guys not understand why that's suspicious?

Because you all just want China to beat the US, that's why.

Answer 13

i agree, asians like to cheat. its in their nature