Scandalous path to Paris 2024: doping, corruption, controversy
As the countdown to the 2024 Paris Olympics intensifies, a series of scandals has cast a shadow over the upcoming Games. From the doping controversy involving 23 Chinese swimmers, to corruption investigations targeting Paris Olympic organizers, and personal struggles faced by athletes, the integrity of the world's most celebrated sporting event is under scrutiny. Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports on the details.
A cigarette, a drink, and a ticket home
Shoko Miyata, 19, Japan's women's artistic gymnastics team captain, withdrew from the Paris Olympics after confessing to smoking and drinking. Miyata returned to Tokyo from the team's training facility, where she admitted to drinking and smoking once since late June. Youth under 20 cannot smoke or drink in Japan. She testified that competitive aims drove her to smoke and drink. Miyata may be the first athlete to withdraw from the Olympics without injury or illness, according to the Japanese Olympic Committee. The JGA would not approve a substitute for Miyata, who withdrew without injury or illness, leaving the squad with only four gymnasts. Miyata's withdrawal hurts the women's team's chances of winning its first Olympic medal since 1964. Miyata, from Kyoto Prefecture, won bronze on the balancing beam and seventh in all-around at her 2022 world championships debut. She qualified for the Olympics with her first national championship in April and third NHK Cup triumph in May.
Convicted competition
Recent controversy surrounding Dutch volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was allowed to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic despite 2016 conviction of raping a 12-year-old child, led to him not staying in the players' village. Van de Velde, sentenced to four years in prison, seeks alternate housing despite the Dutch Volleyball Federation’s support. Van de Velde qualified for the Olympics eight years after a judge denied him the chance to represent the Netherlands for his offenses. He confessed to three rapes in 2016 after meeting his victim on Facebook and traveling from the Netherlands to the UK. After serving only a 12-month prison sentence in the Netherlands Van de Velde made the national beach volleyball squad. His defense lawyer called him a "sex monster" and predicted his career's end, drawing media attention. Van de Velde, 29, has recovered and ranks 11th in the world with Immers, defying that prognosis. Media duties will fall to his teammate Matthew Immers in the village.
Finger off, game face on
Australian field hockey player Matt Dawson amputated part of his finger to prepare for his third Olympics in Paris. After injuring his right ring finger, the 30-year-old Tokyo Games silver medalist had to decide between two options doctor’s gave him: amputate part of the finger or let it heal, with only one assuring his Paris participation. "I didn't have much time to decide," Dawson told Seven Network. Australian men's coach Colin Batch applauded Dawson's bravery and determination, but he wasn't sure he would have done it. " The hockey competition begins in Paris on July 27, Australia will try to beat Belgium, which defeated them in Tokyo.
Fight against harassment
After a year of sexual harassment protests in Indian wrestling, female competitors are preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics. A year ago, wrestling in India was banned when federation leader Brij Bhushan Singh was accused of sexual misconduct. Singh rejected the claims, but the sports ministry abolished the federation and created a provisional squad. Sakshi Malik, the only Indian woman to win an Olympic wrestling medal, protested Singh's resignation in Delhi. The IOC denounced the wrestlers' treatment and demanded an impartial investigation. In December 2023, the Wrestling Federation of India elected Sanjay Singh, a Brij Bhushan Singh associate, as its new chief, angering women wrestlers. Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik resigned in protest.
Malik's fight spurred young wrestlers like Tanu Malik to train harder for the Olympics.
Swimming, training, doping?
WADA officials are under fire after a scandal involving 23 Chinese elite and Olympic swimmers who tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance months before the Paris Summer Games. The controversy concerns 2021 positive doping tests that WADA and China withheld. WADA President Witold Banka said the Chinese athletes were "innocent." and that all proper formalities were followed. Critics call the situation a "potential cover-up" and doubt the worldwide anti-doping system's legitimacy. USADA head Travis Tygart was dissatisfied with the lack of transparency and private handling of positive samples. WADA confirmed that the Chinese swimmers' positive drug tests were discovered in June 2021, before the Tokyo Olympics. Due to trace levels in a hotel kitchen, Chinese authorities said the athletes were accidentally contaminated with trimetazidine. WADA accepted this statement without further examination, citing COVID-19 problems. The case has outraged the world despite explanations. British swimmer James Guy urged for the Chinese athletes to be banned, while U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland stated that the timing of the discoveries undermined fair competition. The incident has cast a shadow over the Paris Olympics, casting doubt on the international anti-doping regime.
Organizer’s corruption probe
Paris 2024 organizers are under criticism as they prepare for the July 26–August 11, 2024 Games. French police searched the Paris Olympic organizers' headquarters as part of corruption investigations into Games contracts. The Paris organizing committee acknowledged the search at its Saint-Denis headquarters, cooperating with investigators and upholding its strict contract procedures. Two preliminary investigations—one started in 2017 when Paris was chosen as the 2024 host and another last year—led to the raids. Paris 2024 promoted transparency and democracy after pandemic-restricted Olympics and problematic World Cups. Saccage 2024, an anti-Olympics group, applauded the raids, saying corruption is inevitable in such large events. The IOC knew of the cooperation with police but did not comment.
