The example of Yu Zidi, who is competing in the 200-metre medley final at the World Championships in Singapore today, has reignited the debate: how young can a professional athlete be, and how old must they be to compete in major competitions? What constitutes child labour? What should be banned?
In a letter to 206 National Olympic Committees, the IOC stated that national boxing federations that remain members of the International Boxing Association (IBA), will lose all rights. The NOCs are not to maintain any relations with these boxing federations. That is the game changer.
The IOC president sought to get close to Putin even after the Sochi Doping Games. He fraternised with Xi Jinping. He politicised the 2018 Games in South Korea, driven by the dream of the Nobel Peace Prize. All a miserable failure that dragged the Games deeper into a political quagmire. A commentary.
While World Athletics president Sebastian Coe sides with democratic nations, the IOC President Thomas Bach rejects their statements on Russia's war of aggression as uninformed and a violation of sport’s autonomy.
Kamila Valieva' doping case raised questions about a minimum age for Olympic athletes. The Games thrive on high-performing children – some of them so young that they are not even allowed to compete in the Youth Olympic Games. Children are vulnerable to authoritarian states chasing medals and glory.
