The Solution to Our Problem...

A solution is not immediately clear. Government is the issue. The IOC was meant to be a way to curb the influence of national governments on Olympic proceedings. There is no absolute way to solve this issue. There will always be dishonest and greedy governments willing to exploit the Olympic games and misinterpret their purpose. The only way to stop bad government is with better government. The IOC is the only organization that has the power to successfully put national governments in their place, at least when it comes to the Olympics. Today, the IOC is not using its powers effectively (Eagle- citation in previous post).

The IOC should use its power to enforce rules that restrict nations from cashing in on the Olympics. They should disallow countries from building new arenas just for the Olympic games. This would solve the issue of nations flaunting wealth to others. Using only preexisting stadiums would give other countries a true idea of what a nation is like, which is one of the true purposes of the games. Also, the IOC should limit media coverage to only sporting events and other events deemed important enough to broadcast globally. For example, the death of a Georgian athlete before the 2010 Olympics would be an appropriate use of the media. Interviewing analysts who discuss who is to blame and pull the attention away from the accident is a tasteless use of media.

This would be an appropriate use of media in this case. I cannot show you the video in this space because, by special request, it cannot be copied from its original home. Mr. Rogge is only concerned with the death of the athlete and deflects questions that detract from the significance of the situation.

This is an inappropriate use of media. I cannot embed this video either. Sorry! This news cast is more centered around blame and the track instead of honoring a fallen athlete. Blame is not a bad topic of discussion, but at the wrong time is very distasteful.

The IOC should do more than just place restrictions on governments. There should also be more limitations on athletes as well. The IOC should enforce rules that constrain how much time an athlete can train before the actual games. They should be allowed to train in whatever manner desired at home; however, the IOC should allow athletes to reach the competition site earlier than allowed now. Five days of practice would be an adequate amount of time to allow athletes to become acclimated to the new environment and the course they will compete on. This would permit athletes to get in extra practice on the courses and playing fields they will be on, allowing them to give better performances for the judges and the spectators.