The growing outcry over Chinese government policies ranging from human rights to free expression to support for repressive regimes in Sudan and Myanmar is putting Olympic athletes on the spot. Should they speak up about touchy political topics while they're at the Beijing Games this summer?
"I feel like if you feel passionate about something, then you should definitely take a stand on it, but recognize kind of where you do that," said US sprinter Allyson Felix. "There's a time and a place for everything."
The British Olympic Association this month tried to get its athletes to sign an agreement saying they wouldn't comment on any "politically sensitive issues" during the Games, but quickly backed down after a public uproar.
While the US Olympic Committee won't ask its athletes to zip their lips, it plans to remind them that they're American ambassadors while they're in China and to conduct themselves accordingly.
"We don't just go there, we get invited there," said USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth.
Even though the Olympic charter forbids what it calls political propaganda at the Games, there has been increasing pressure on athletes to sound off there this summer. Olympic speedskating champion Joey Cheek has co-founded "Team Darfur" to pressure the Sudanese government (and primary supporter China) to end the slaughter in that region, and he has signed up dozens of athletes.
For many Olympians, though, mixing sports and politics makes them uncomfortable.
"We can't be worried about all the problems of the world, although we need to be aware of them," said gymnast Paul Hamm, who is one of the best-known American athletes in China after winning the world and Olympic titles. "For athletes to be politicians, I don't think that's where we should be going."
Ski races are close
Looks like the World Cup overall chase in Alpine skiing will go down to the finals in Italy next month. Bode Miller leads Austria's Benjamin Raich by just 45 points on the men's side and Lindsey Vonn (who already wrapped up the downhill crown) is 54 points up on Austria's Nicole Hosp on the women's. The US hasn't won both overall titles in the same year since Phil Mahre and Tamara McKinney did it in 1983 . . . Hoping to straighten herself out in time for next month's World Figure Skating Championships in Sweden, former champion Kimmie Meissner dumped longtime coach Pam Gregory and signed on with Richard Callaghan, who coached Tara Lipinski to Olympic gold and Todd Eldredge to a world title. Meissner, who's had a rough season, was shaken by her shocking seventh-place finish at nationals and said she had to make changes to regain her focus and confidence . . . The US figure skaters had a so-so showing at the Four Continents Championships in Seoul, winning four medals but missing a gold for the first time in five years. The women had a particularly rough go, finishing sixth (Katrina Hacker of the Skating Club of Boston), eighth (Ashley Wagner), and 11th (Bebe Liang).Shining Shani
Shani Davis has been a one-man team for the US long-track speedskaters this season. Besides winning the only medal (a bronze) at the world championships, he topped the World Cup standings in both the 1,000 and 1,500 meters. The Dutch ruled the planet again, winning both the men's (Sven Kramer) and women's (Paulien van Deutekom) all-around titles for the second year in a row. On the sprint side, the Korean men had their best global showing, with Lee Kyou Hyuk and Mun Joon finishing 1-3, while the German women went 1-2 with Jenny Wolf and Anni Friesinger . . . The German bobsledders had a merry time on their Altenberg home course at the world championships the past two weekends, winning all three events with Andre Lange (who also claimed both the two-man and four-man World Cup crowns) and Sandra Kiriasis. It was a wipeout, though, for the Yanks, as Steve Holcomb finished 10th and sixth on the men's side and Olympic silver medalist Shauna Rohbock finished ninth after crashing. "This is just not my track," shrugged Holcomb, who ended up third in the overall Cup standings after winning last year. "My worst results have been here." . . . The German lugers also made the most of their Oberhof home ice, turning the world championship into their nationals by winning eight of nine medals. Their women, who haven't lost a race in 11 years, went 1-2-3 for the eighth straight time behind Tatjana Huefner. Their men swept the top four places behind Felix Loch and won the double for the fourth consecutive year with Andre Florschuetz and Torsten Wustlich. It was an empty season for the Americans, who didn't win a single World Cup medal and didn't come close to the podium at the world championships.Combined strength
He won't catch German leader Ronny Ackermann for the overall World Cup title in Nordic combined, but Adirondack ace Bill Demong likely will finish second. He's been on the podium frequently this year (including last weekend in Poland) and could well break the US drought at Olympus in 2010 . . . As expected, the Russians, Norwegians, and Germans turned the recent world biathlon championships in Sweden into their private party, winning all 10 events and 26 of the 30 medals. There was a ray of light for the Americans, though, with Tim Burke posting a pair of top-10 finishes . . . Debbie McCormick won her sixth title (and record third straight) at the US curling championships and should be in the medal chase at next month's world event in British Columbia. Meanwhile, Craig Brown won his first men's crown in eight years ahead of a field that included Olympic medalist Pete Fenson and defending champion Todd Birr . . . USA Gymnastics is sending the varsity to Saturday's American Cup at Madison Square Garden: world all-around women's champion Shawn Johnson, gold-medal teammates Nastia Liukin, Samantha Peszek, and Shayla Worley, plus Hamm, former world medalists Raj Bhavsar and Alexander Artemev, and defending Cup champion Jonathan Horton. The women should cruise against second-tier foreigners, but the men will be up against the iron in Germany's Fabian Hambuechen and Japan's Hisashi Mizutori, the world silver and bronze medalists. Hamm, by the way, has shown few ill effects from his 2 1/2-year sabbatical after Athens, winning the all-around at this month's Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas . . . Going all ahead full for a third Olympic swimming team is North Easton native Erik Vendt, who set a US Open record (14:47.59) in the 1,500-meter freestyle at the recent Missouri Grand Prix. Vendt, who won silvers in the 400 individual medley at the last two Games, was out of the competitive pool for a year and a half after Athens.Front runners
With the calendar turning over, Kenya's Martin Lel and Ethiopia's Gete Wami are atop the World Marathon Majors leaderboard based on their 2007 points, which will be added to the 2008 results to determine the next biennial winner. Lel's victories in London and New York last year put him 20 points ahead of defending champion Robert Cheruiyot and Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri, while defending champion Wami's Berlin triumph and runner-up efforts at London and New York have her 15 up on China's Zhou Chunxiu . . . Eugene has reclaimed its status as Track Town, USA. The greener-than-green home of the University of Oregon, which hosted the 1972, '76, and '80 Olympic trials, will stage both the 2008 and 2012 events, as well as the 2009 and 2011 national outdoor meets, which will determine the teams for the world championships in Berlin and Daegu, South Korea.Material from Olympic committees, sports federations, interviews, and wire services was used in this report; John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com
