Olympic Games Research Articles

A Study on the Olympic Hosting Proposal Based on Comprehensive Evaluation and the ARIMA Model

As a significant event, the Olympic Games have attracted considerable attention since their inception. However, in recent times, enthusiasm for hosting the Olympics among countries worldwide has seen a decline. To propose a reasonable Olympic hosting plan, this article establishes an Olympic hosting capability assessment model. The study selected 11 countries that have hosted either the Summer or Winter Olympics in the past 20 years and investigated seven key aspects of evaluation indicators. Using the EWM-AHP method combined with the TOPSIS method, scores were assigned to these 11 countries. Based on the scores, nations that have previously hosted the Olympics were ranked. The top three countries for both Winter and Summer Olympics were identified, suggesting that the Olympic Games rotate among these nations. To predict the future impact of hosting the Olympics on the host country, this article employs the ARIMA model to forecast the future development of the host nations. The results indicate that hosting the Olympics will lead to a rise in the nation's score, thus validating the reasonability of the hosting proposal.

Reality offsets: Climate meets capitalism at the Olympic Games

In the era of undeniable climate crisis, investors too have become wary of corporate greenwashing. Far from heralding progress, this development appears to legitimise a collective greenwashing project better described as corporate environmentalism. Through this meta-greenwashing, corporations as a bloc are exploiting their communicative platforms to renarrate climate crisis into climate opportunity, positioning the corporation as an indispensable agent of overcoming the crisis. From one perspective, the entry of big capital into climate discourse promises to overcome the contradiction between endless growth and a finite planet. Yet, from another, it merely sustains the contradiction, fuelled by unjustified hope. This article critiques corporate environmentalism through the example of the Olympic Games. As the world’s largest media event that fuses half the population by technology while producing vast carbon emissions, the Games has in recent decades countered environmental critique through policies and discourses exemplary of corporate environmentalism. Analysing Olympic sustainability discourse shows how it sustains the double reality of climate crisis and capitalism by conjuring a seductive vision of a future of sustainability – a vision that floats free of present-day unsustainability in the same way net-zero targets rely on leaps of faith and undeveloped technologies. The examples analysed show how a new grammar of ‘future perfect sustainability’ offsets environmental concerns by rendering the present in light of a hoped-for future sustainability, just as it pushes sustainability ever farther away.

Application of Vagal-Mediated Heart Rate Variability and Subjective Markers to Optimise Training Prescription: An Olympic Athlete Case Report

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this case study was to investigate whether the variation in parasympathetic branch activity, in conjunction with subjective data, could optimize the training prescription for an elite athlete during an Olympic season. Methods: During the preparatory phase for the Tokyo Olympic Games, a world-class female 3000m steeplechase runner (Age: 20 years, Height: 168 cm, Weight: 52 kg, VO2max: 67.1 mL⋅min⋅kg-1) recorded Heart Rate Variability (HRV), conducted orthostatic tests, and completed subjective evaluations four times a week throughout the different training periods that constitute a pre-Olympic season. The Pearson correlation coefficient and the Shapiro-Wilk test, along with paired T-tests, were used to assess correlations and compare mean differences between variables concerning baseline measurements and each of the other training periods. Results: The natural logarithm of the root mean square of the standard deviation during supine measurement (LnRMSSDsu) exhibited a significant negative correlation with the training load based on Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and sleep quality (P < 0.05). Heart rate during supine measurement (HRsu) showed a significant positive correlation with subjective perceived exertion, sleep quality, stress, muscle soreness, and fatigue (P < 0.01). Compared to the baseline (rest), LnRMSSDsu, HRsu, RPE, and sleep quality were significantly different during the training, camp, and altitude training camp periods. Conversely, markers of standing Heart Rate Variability (HRV) did not differ during competition periods. Conclusion: Standing Heart Rate Variability, when combined with subjective markers, serves as a relevant monitoring tool for adapting training periods to regulate psychophysiological effects.

Retracted: Research on Sustainable Development of Olympic Games Based on Ecological Carrying Capacity Analysis

Retracted: Research on Sustainable Development of Olympic Games Based on Ecological Carrying Capacity Analysis

Media Attention and Event-Based Grouping of Stocks: An Examination of Stocks Hyped by Media Outlets as Benefiting from the Olympics

We examine five summer Olympics and identify stocks that media outlets hype as benefiting from the Olympics (Olympic stocks). There is a seven-year period from the time that a country first learns it has won the Olympic bid to the start of the games (Olympic time period). We predict that the excitement of the Olympics along with the greater media attention impacts the valuation and risk of Olympic stocks. Consistent with this prediction, we show that Olympic stocks earn higher returns than their matched counterparts and comove more strongly with each other over the Olympic time period. Olympic stocks also exhibit increases in trading volume and stock volatility on days when media outlets have stories linking the firm to the Olympic Games. However, we find no evidence that the Olympic Games translate into stronger fundamentals for Olympic firms or stronger fundamental comovements. These findings suggest that investors are not purchasing the stocks based on an analysis of fundamentals, but are purchasing them based on their Olympic attribute. To confirm that event-based groupings occur in other settings, we show that comovement increases for stocks classified by the media as “stay-at-home” stocks at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper was accepted by Eric So, accounting. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.02218 .

Does cooperation with multiple actors diffuse the government’s responsibility in the implementation of COVID-19 measures?

Abstract To manage the COVID-19 pandemic, the Japanese government has cooperated with multiple actors, such as experts, prefectural governments, and medical professionals, who generally attract limited attention in non-crisis times. While cooperation with such actors allows the central government to mobilize knowledge and utilize resources it does not have, such collaboration could diffuse the responsibility of COVID-19-related measures onto other actors. To empirically test this conjecture, we conducted an online survey experiment prior to the 2021 Japanese general election. It investigated whether the government’s cooperation with experts, prefectural governors, medical professionals, and the International Olympic Committee obscured its responsibility in the declaration of stay-at-home advisories, securing of beds, and conducting of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. The results deliver no evidence that informing people of the influence of any actor diffused the government’s responsibility for the implementation of COVID-19-related measures. The findings of this study imply that the Japanese people held the national government accountable even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transforming “white elephants” into positive legacies for cities: An assessment of the sustainability of winter Olympic venues and its implications

AbstractAs major attractions for host cities, mega‐event venues have the potential to generate revenue and attract new events, create job and business opportunities, and drive urban innovation and transformation. However, they are often criticized for being unsustainable due to high resource and energy consumption, potential environmental pollution, large construction and operating costs, and insufficient usage post‐event. Winter Olympic venues, in particular, are frequently situated in ecologically sensitive areas and are more exclusive, leading to higher maintenance and conversion costs as well as greater ecological risks. Until now, studies examining the sustainability of large‐scale winter venues have been lacking. In this study, a multi‐dimensional conceptual model was developed to include ecological, social, and economic aspects, and the scorecard method was used to quantitatively evaluate the sustainability of venues from six Winter Olympic Games held between 1998 and 2018. The results show that the overall sustainability of the venues is at a medium level, with relatively high ecological sustainability. Additionally, the sustainability of the venues has improved over time, while the economic dimension of sustainability has decreased. Furthermore, indicators that hinder the sustainability of Winter Olympic venues were identified, and strategies from ecological, social, and economic dimensions were proposed to improve their sustainability. This study enriched the knowledge of Olympic legacies and sustainable venues, providing theoretical implications for the assessment of venue sustainability and practical implications for the construction and utilization of sports facilities as sustainable city infrastructure.

The Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Sport and Change-Event on Athlete Performance

The study aims to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on sports, its industry and competitions, and its impact on the psychological state of athletes and sports fans. After the world suffered from the spread of the Corona pandemic “Covid 19” and its various effects on humans, as it was classified by the World Health Organization as one of the pandemic diseases that spread quickly, widely and rapidly and that led to human losses. Covid 19 led to the adoption of a set of health measures, the most important of which was quarantine as a preventive measure aimed at limiting the spread of infection, and this led to huge losses in global markets, the energy sector, the economy, tourism and entertainment. The sports field was not excluded from these repercussions, as it is an important sector on the economic, sports and social levels, the sports sector has been particularly affected by the Covid -19 crisis in a way we have not seen before, with all physical activities, face-to-face, and all team sports suddenly being restricted indefinitely in many countries. And this change is significant for most male and female athletes professionals and non-professionals competing in various tournaments, and as a result, sports organizations have had to restructure themselves to provide a service to their users. The coronavirus pandemic has caused the biggest disruption to the global sporting calendar since World War II worldwide with varying degrees of postponement of sporting events so that spectators do not have matches to watch and players do not have matches to play. Turkmenistan, Belarus, Nicaragua, and Tajikistan are among the countries that have continued to hold professional sports contests as scheduled. The Arctic Winter Games have been canceled for 2020, whereas the ASEAN Olympic Games have been rescheduled for 2020.

A retrospective analysis of injury and illness incidence in four new extreme sports debuting during the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games: surfing, BMX freestyle, sport climbing, and skateboarding

A retrospective analysis of injury and illness incidence in four new extreme sports debuting during the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games: surfing, BMX freestyle, sport climbing, and skateboarding

A taste of ambrosia: Do Olympic medalists live longer than Olympic losers?

To investigate the longevity of a large sample of Olympic Games participants, considering the interaction between different types of sports and medal awards. Data scraping from Wikipedia and Wikidata allowed us to collect a sample of 102,993 famous athletes. We selected 20 of the most populated disciplines to make the groups comparable. We conducted a comparison of life duration on a subset of 17,194 elite athletes, predominantly male, dead at the time of analysis. Olympic medalists' lifespan was shorter than non-medalists. Athletes in such disciplines as boxing, weightlifting, ice hockey, cycling, football, swimming, and wrestling lived significantly shorter lives than the mean of the group of athletes. In contrast, the duration of life in athletes involved in athletics, rowing, fencing, artistic gymnastics, shooting, cross-country skiing, sailing, and equestrian sports was highest compared with the mean of the group. Disciplines classified as engaging mostly power were linked to shorter lifespans, whereas those involving predominantly skill were associated with longer life durations. The interaction of being a medalist and sport was found to be significant. Medalists in the disciplines of athletics, basketball, boxing, equestrian sports, wrestling, and water polo had significantly shorter lives (the final item was insignificant after correction for multiple comparisons). Olympic achievement was linked to length of life in mainly individual, not team, sports.

Impact of Equation Choice on Resting Metabolic Rate Ratio in High-Level Men and Women Athletes

Objective: To examine the impact of the RMR ratio cutoff point selected on the categorization of prevalence/absence of low energy availability among predictive equations in high-level athletes (n = 241 [99 women]; 52% competed at the World Championship and Olympic Games), and whether this categorization is influenced by sex and the predictive equation used. Methods: We assessed RMR using indirect calorimetry, predicted the RMR using the equations proposed by Harris-Benedict, FAO/WHO/UNU, de Lorenzo, ten Haaf and Wejis, Wong, Jagim, Cunningham, and Freire, and computed the RMR ratio for each equation. Results: We observed that the cumulative percentage of RMR ratio values increased at a faster rate using Jagim, ten Haaf and Wejis, and Cunningham equations compared to the other equations. At the 0.90 value (the most used cutoff point in literature), the Jagim equation categorized ≥ 50% of the athletes into “low energy availability”. No Sex × Equation × Sport interaction effect was observed (F = 0.10, p = 1.0). There was a significant main effect to Sex (F = 11.7, p < 0.001, ES = 0.05), Sport (F = 16.4, p < 0.001, ES = 0.01), and Equation (F = 64.1, p < 0.001, ES = 0.19). Wong and FAO/WHO/UNU equations yielded the largest errors (assessed vs. predicted RMR) in men and women, respectively. Conclusion: The selected RMR ratio cutoff point influences the prevalence/absence of low energy availability characterization in high-level athletes and suggests that certain equations could bias its assessment.

Modernity, Aesthetics, and Nation Re-branding in Olympics: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of the Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games

The paper examines the construction of China’s country image in the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. It demonstrates how a country that has no winter sports tradition used the mega-event to showcase its national narrative and to promote winter sports industries. A semiotic framework is developed to model China’s country image as evaluative attributes and to elucidate how they are constructed through linguistic and visual resources in the theater, livestream, and video inserts. The analysis shows that the ceremony was narrated around four major themes—the world’s China, People’s China, the aesthetic China, and the modernized China. Instead of revealing a changeless, nostalgic and mythical China that speaks to a Western orientalistic imagination, these four themes work together to reshape a modern China identity, which brings the contrasting values of globalism, nationalism, Chinese traditional aesthetics, and neoliberalism into a coherent artistic performance. The characteristics of nation branding discourse reflect China’s urban regeneration policies on the one hand, and public diplomacies during the COVID-19 pandemic on the other.

The Marriage of Sport and Art:The Forgotten Olympic Art Competitions (1912-1948)

Since their inception, the Olympic Movement and the arts have always gone hand in hand and complemented each other. In the early years of the modern Olympic movement (1912-1948), the Muse Pentathlon was an official event of the Olympic Games. However, the question of how to organize such an artistic event in sport and how to evaluate artistic competitions in artistic events of the same period remains a question of great significance. Using historical research, case studies and comparative studies, this paper explores the interaction between the Olympics and the arts and the IOC’s understanding of Olympic culture by focusing on the IOC’s official practice of organizing art competitions and planning exhibitions, and by combining it with the historical background of art competitions held in the first half of the twentieth century and art salon events of the same period. The research resources are based on official IOC reports, conference documents, newspapers, art exhibition brochures, Coubertin’s own works and memoirs, and other primary documents and images.

Olympic Games and expectations: The factor analysis model about Olympic Urbanism and Olympic Villages

Editions of the Olympic Games have given rise to an important urban transformation that has opened a new critical perspective on the new urban dimension of the Games, especially in the construction of the three main physical elements: the athletics stadium, swimming facilities and, above all, the «Olympic Village». The study analyses the Winter and Summer Olympic Games in a general way, with particular attention to the relationship between the Olympic spatial dimension and the urban fabric. The relationship of interdependence between the city and the Olympic Games has evolved through new models of development of the Olympic event that have marked the importance of the transformation processes of the city. The lack of previous studies allows us to affirm the importance of the study for the academic debate on the future of the Olympic Village. The study used quantitative factor analysis to investigate the different variables and responses of the Olympic specialists who participated in the sample. The study will observe the perceptions and expectations of respondents through statistical analysis, considering the three elements identified: social, territory and organization.

Incidence of staff injury and illness at the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

To report epidemiological data regarding injury and illness among the Team USA staff during the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. A retrospective review of all Team USA staff (total staff, N=1703 (62.5% female); total staff days (SD)=34 489) medical encounters during the Tokyo 2020 Games and Beijing 2022 Games was conducted. Details related to injury and illness were evaluated. Incidence with 95% CI per 1000 staff days were calculated. A total of 32 illnesses (incidence [95% CI] 0.9 [0.6, 1.2]) and 23 injuries (incidence 0.7 [0.4, 0.9]) were sustained by the Team USA delegation staff members during the Tokyo 2020 Games and Beijing 2022 Games. Female staff reported more illnesses (illnesses proportion (IP) 2.9%; incidence 1.4 [0.8, 2.0]), while male staff incurred more injuries (IP 1.8%; incidence 0.9 [0.5, 1.3]). When stratified by physiological system, dermatological and infectious were the most common systems involved with illness (IP 0.5%; incidence 0.2 [0.1, 0.4]). Injuries to the upper limb were most common (IP 0.3%; incidence 0.3 [0.1, 0.5]). Injury and illness rates among the Team USA staff during the Tokyo 2020 Games and Beijing 2022 Games were low, but notable. Knowledge of injury and illness risks contributes to staffing decisions and prevention strategies for staff supporting athletes during competition.

Rudolph Brilloff, the Olympic Games, and Salto Mortale in Circus Performances in the Grand Duchy of Posen

Introduction: In 1839 the Gazeta Wielkiego Xięstwa Poznańskiego (Gazette of the Grand Duchy of Posen) announced the holding of the Olympic Games in the city of Posen by Rudolph Brilloff’s circus troupe. The aim of this study is to examine the role of Rudolph Brilloff in the history of nineteenth-century circus and to ascertain whether he consciously advocated for the organization of Olympic Games in circus format as part of the legacy of the Olympic tradition. Moreover, it aims to explore the distinctive characteristics of his circus performances within the realm of the Grand Duchy of Posen. Materials and Methods: The study used the historical methodology of the humanities of physical culture. Books, newspapers and other documents from archives and library collections in Poznan, Berlin and Potsdam were consulted. Findings: The research results show that although Rudolph Brilloff is considered the father of the German circus, little biographical information about him has survived. As a talented circus entrepreneur, who performed with his troupe under the name of the Olympic Games, he probably had little awareness or knowledge of the Olympic idea and therefore did not intend to promote it. However, Brilloff’s circus staged unique performances in the form of pantomimes or feats rarely seen in Poland before due to their dangerous nature, e.g. the salto mortale, also known as the leap of death. Summary: Rudolph Brilloff can be regarded as the forgotten father of German circus and should not be directly associated with the question of the Olympic legacy. However, Brilloff’s work had a real impact on nineteenth-century society and certainly contributed to other circuses expanding their repertoires with new elements based on various physical activities, ultimately leading to the development of modern circus art.

Safeguarding in Swiss sport – Why is everything going so slowly?

A lot of valuable work is done in Swiss sport. This is one of the main reasons why our athletes are able to repeatedly achieve success at the Olympic Games, World and European Championships in the elite and junior categories. However, sport also has its dark sides, one of which concerns abuse in all its possible forms. Scientific studies conducted over the last three years have shown that the proportion of people affected in Switzerland is in line with the alarmingly high figures from surveys conducted abroad. The numerous reports received by Swiss Sport Integrity’s ethics reporting office, which has been active since January 2022, can only underline this fact.

A Case Study of a Senior High-Performance Leader Managing Psychological Effects During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The potential scope for qualified sport psychology service providers is broadening. Recent empirical research and associated commentaries have highlighted the opportunity for applied sport psychology professionals to apply concepts and experiences toward having a positive effect on athletes’ training environment. This case study details a high-performance leader within an Australian national training institute who is also a trained sport psychology practitioner, attempting to optimize psychological effects in the time leading up to the Tokyo 2020 (i.e., 2021) Olympic Games. The objective was to meet or exceed medal targets though the provision of a strong, team-led approach where activity to achieve high-performance outcomes was prioritized but in a manner that leveraged strong professional relationships and through the prioritization of everyone’s mental and emotional health whenever practicably achievable.

Characteristics of fine particulate matter in Linyi during the 24th Olympic winter Games: An insight into the components, sources, transport pathways, and source distribution

To maintain air quality and mitigate pollution during the 24th Olympic Winter Games, strict control measures were implemented in Beijing and surrounding areas, including Linyi. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) sampling was conducted in the urban area of Linyi between November 10th, 2021, and February 20th, 2022. This sampling period was divided into a no-control period (NCP) and a control period (CP). The PM2.5 concentration decreased by 25.0% during the CP, whereas the atmospheric oxidation increased. This led to the formation of secondary components of PM2.5. Although the conversion rate of the precursors into secondary components was increased during the CP, the nitrate (NO3−) and ammonium (NH4+) concentrations were reduced due to emission reduction. Elemental carbon (EC) and primary organic carbon concentrations were also decreased, whereas the organic carbon (OC)/EC ratio and proportion of secondary organic carbon in PM2.5 increased. Total detected inorganic element concentrations decreased by 23.6% during the CP. The results of source apportionment revealed that secondary sources were the leading PM2.5 contributors during both periods. Vehicle pollution prevention and control should be strengthened as no restrictions on private-car travel during the CP. Controlling combustion and industrial sources had a significant impact on air quality during the CP. Biomass burning and industrial emissions declined from 20.7% to 16.1% (NCP) to 2.0% and 9.1% (CP), respectively. Backward trajectories revealed that air masses largely originated from local regions during both periods, with the highest PM2.5 concentrations found in air masses from the north (NCP) and east (CP) of Linyi. Potential source regions were also identified. The location of these regions showed that local and regional collaborative control of PM2.5 is urgently needed, particularly in northern and southern Linyi (NCP) and eastern Linyi (CP).

Participation of women sportsperson from India in the modern Olympic games till 2020: A study

Participation of women sportsperson from India in the modern Olympic games till 2020: A study