Evaluation and emotional consequences of the decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Polish Elite Athletes

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 7-17
Author(s):  
Martyna Nowak ◽  
Iwona Pilchowska ◽  
Justyna Domienik-Karłowicz ◽  
Hubert Krysztofi ak

In March 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Olympic Committee decided to cancel the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and postpone it to 2021. This decision caused a lot of emotions among elite athletes and disrupted their preparation cycle for the most important quadrennial athletic competition. The aim of the study was to investigate how Polish elite athletes regard this decision and what emotions they feel about it. The current training situation of athletes was also monitored during the study. 478 Polish elite athletes took part in the survey. The results showed that the athletes feel stronger sadness and uncertainty compared to the beginning of the year. Athletes with Olympic qualifi cation consider the decision to cancel the Olympic Games to be much more negative, but – what is interesting – is that they rate the current training options higher and declare feeling less concern about their sports form next year. Two independent clusters show that some athletes experience an increase in negative emotions, while others do not experience major changes (compared to the beginning of the year). Using factor analysis, two factors were also distinguished – emotional and sports. Both exhibited statistically signifi cantly correlations with opinions about the current training situation. The results obtained allow for the development of valuable recommendations regarding support for athletes. Strengthening the ability to regulate emotions, working with the structure of properly formulated goals and building awareness of maintaining a good attitude and approach will be particularly important.

Author(s):  
Mikhail E. Komarov

В данной статье рассматривается актуальный вопрос расходов на организацию летних Олимпийских игр на предолимпийском этапе. В статье проводится анализ структуры расходов на рассматриваемом этапе на примере XXXII летних Олимпийских игр в Токио. Детально исследуется структура расходов на двух крупных подэтапах: подача заявки на проведение Игр и непосредственно организация Олимпиады, при этом отдельно выделяются расходы трёх основных групп: Международного олимпийского комитета (с фокусом на программе Олимпийской солидарности), условной группы бизнеса и условной группы государства. На первом подэтапе в условную группу государства входят Токийский муниципалитет, правительство Японии и Заявочный комитет Токио 2020, в то время как на автором рассматриваемом подэтапе место Заявочного комитета занимает учреждённый в 2014 г. после официального избрания Токио городом-организатором Организационный комитет Токио 2020. В рамках каждой из трёх основных групп приводятся конкретные проекты, проводится анализ статей расходов на их осуществление. Отдельно стоит выделить тот факт, что автор, являясь действующим сотрудником Организационного комитета Токио 2020, осуществляет детальное изучение проектов и статей расходов, зачастую не попадающих в поле зрения исследователей данной темы. Отдельно анализируются факторы и причины увеличения первоначального бюджета на организацию и проведение XXXII летних Олимпийских игр, в частности такие, как перенос соревнований по марафону и спортивной ходьбе из Токио в г. Саппоро, перенос Игр на 2021 г. в связи с угрозой распространения вируса COVID-19 и т.д. На основе имеющихся данных по состоянию на май 2020 г. выделяется ряд тенденций, связанных со статьями расходов отдельно взятых групп. Основываясь на данных проведённого исследования, автор делает вывод, что наибольшие расходы на предолимпийском этапе несёт условная группа государства, в рамках которой доли Токийского муниципалитета и Оргкомитета Токио 2020 условно равны. Ключевые слова: Олимпийские игры, Организационный комитет Токио 2020, структура расходов Олимпийских игр, Токийский муниципалитет, Заявочный комитет Токио 2020, Международный олимпийский комитет, экономика Олимпийских игр, предолимпийский этап, XXXII летние Олимпийские игры, программа Олимпийской солидарности. This article deals with the topical issue of the costs related to hosting the Olympic Games at the pre-Olympic stage. The article provides an analysis of the cost structure at this stage on the example of the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo. The cost structure in two major sub-stages is studied in detail: bidding stage and the organizing stage, with the focus on the costs of three main groups: the International Olympic Committee (highlighting the Olympic Solidarity program), nominal business group and nominal state group. In the first sub-stage the nominal state group includes Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the government of Japan and the Tokyo 2020 Bidding Committee, while in the second sub-stage the Tokyo 2020 Bidding Committee is replaced by the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, established in 2014 after Tokyo was officially elected as the host city. Specific examples of the projects within each of the three main groups are indicated and the analysis of the costs related to their implementation is conducted. It is important to highlight the fact, that the author of the article, being the current employee of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, has carried out a detailed study of projects and cost items that frequently are not covered by other researchers of this issue. The factors and reasons for increased budget, compared with the initial one, for staging and holding the Games of the XXXII Olympiad are analyzed separately; particular emphasis has been put on the transfer of the marathon and race walk competition from Tokyo to Sapporo city and on the postponement of the Games till 2021 due to the threat of the COVID-19 virus spread, etc. Based on the available data as of May 2020, a number of trends related to the cost items of the main groups are indicated. Based on the materials of this article the author concludes that the largest expenses at the pre-Olympic stage are borne by the nominal group of state, within which the shares of Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee are conditionally equal. Keywords: Olympic Games, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, Olympic Games cost structure, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Tokyo 2020 Bidding Committee, the International Olympic Committee, the economics of the Olympic Games, pre-Olympic stage, the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, Olympic Solidarity program.


Mathematics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandras Krylovas ◽  
Natalja Kosareva ◽  
Rūta Dadelienė ◽  
Stanislav Dadelo

Innovative solutions and techniques in the sports industry are commonly used and tested in real conditions. Elite athletes have to achieve their peak performance before the main competition of the year, which is the World Championship, and every fourth year before the Olympic Games, when the main competition of athletes takes place. The present study aims to analyze and evaluate the ability of elite kayakers to achieve the best form at the right times, with the Olympic Games taking the greatest importance. Target values for multiple measures of conditioning are compared to target values set by experts. A weighted least squares metric with weights varied by time period is developed as a measure of fulfillment of the athletes’ conditioning plans. The novelty of the paper is the idea of using linear combination of polynomials and trigonometric functions for approximating the target functions and application of the proposed methodology for the optimization and evaluation of athletic training.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Helene Joncheray ◽  
Fabrice Burlot ◽  
Nicolas Besombes ◽  
Sébastien Dalgalarrondo ◽  
Mathilde Desenfant

This article presents the performance factors identified by Olympic athletes and analyzes how they were prioritized and implemented during the 2012–2016 Olympiad. To address this issue, 28 semistructured interviews were conducted with French athletes who participated in the Olympic Games in 2016. The analysis shows that to achieve performance, only two factors were implemented by all the athletes: training and physical preparation. The other factors, namely, mental preparation, nutrition, and recovery care, were not implemented by all athletes. In addition, two main types of configurations have been identified: a minority of athletes (n = 4) for whom the choice of performance factors and their implementation are controlled by the coach and a majority (n = 24) who adopts secondary adjustments by relying on a parallel network.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (15) ◽  
pp. 920-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Vernec ◽  
David Healy

ObjectivesThe percentage of athletes with Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) competing in elite sport and the association with winning medals has been a matter of speculation in the absence of validated competitor numbers. We used International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) data to identify athletes competing with TUEs at five Olympic Games (Games) and a possible association between having a TUE and winning an Olympic medal.MethodsWe used the IOC’s competition results and WADA’s TUE database to identify the number of TUEs for athlete competitions (ACs, defined as one athlete competing in one event) and any associations with medals among athletes competing in individual competitions. We calculated risk ratios (RR) for the probability of winning a medal among athletes with a TUE compared with that of athletes without a TUE. We also reported adjusted RR (RRadj) controlling for country resources, which is a potential confounder.ResultsDuring the Games from 2010 to 2018, there were 20 139 ACs and 2062 medals awarded. Athletes competed with a TUE in 0.9% (181/20 139) of ACs. There were 21/2062 medals won by athletes with a TUE. The RR for winning a medal with a TUE was 1.13 (95% CI: 0.73 to 1.65; p=0.54), and the RRadj was 1.07 (95% CI: 0.69 to 1.56; p=0.73).ConclusionThe number of athletes competing with valid TUEs at Games is <1%. Our results suggested that there is no meaningful association between being granted a TUE and the likelihood of winning a medal.


2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélanie Bernard-Béziade ◽  
Michaël Attali

Given their internationalization and their dependence on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Olympic Games provide good evidence of linguistic usages in the field of sport and constitute a preferred domain for the lexical study of anglicisms, since, although French is one of the official languages of the Olympic Games, the discourse of sport generally relies on English. Representative of this tendency, the work of journalists examined here displays a variety of lexical strategies. A linguistic analysis of two Olympic sports, athletics and swimming, seems to show that sport is inextricably linked to a particular structural discourse whose tenor is regularly conveyed by journalists. Beyond linguistic barriers, it seems that the perceived nature of sport leads to the privileging of anglicisms which command unquestioned acceptance much as the values of sport do — themselves generally taken for granted without discussion.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maroula Khraiche ◽  
Abhinav Alakshendra

PurposeIn the last 50 years, every Olympics has experienced a major cost overrun. This paper explores the reasons for this cost underestimation and looks into the occurrence of the winner's curse. We also forecast the spending pattern of future host cities. Finally, we discuss the role of the International Olympic Committee in making the Olympic Games more efficient and sustainable.Design/methodology/approachThe review of literature on the topic of constant cost overrun in the Olympic Games is surprisingly very thin. We comprehensively review the existing literature to understand the scholarship in this area. This paper also produces future cost trends for the host cities.FindingsWe argue that cost underestimation is resulting from the outdated bid process which encourages spectacle over efficiency. A no-bid environment is more efficient and allows the host city to negotiate effectively with the International Olympic Committee. The Los Angeles Games of 1984 was profitable and has shown reusing the infrastructure can save a lot of money which could help make the Olympic Games economically sustainable.Originality/valueThis paper adds to the existing knowledge on the cost overrun aspect of Olympics financing. We also forecast the cost trends of hosting future Olympics.


1988 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 264-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stan Labanowich

By referring to criteria established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for including sports in the Olympic Games and considering the maturation of the sports movement for the disabled, it is reasonable to conclude that certain sports reserved exclusively for the disabled can be made eligible for inclusion in the Olympic Games as medal events. A confounding factor in pursuit of inclusion in the Olympic Games is the uncritical willingness of the established international sports organizations for the disabled to amalgamate in order to communicate as a single voice with the IOC. Created in the process is a formal institutionalization of sports programs for the disabled. Despite invitations to stage demonstration events in recent Olympic Games, sports organizations have failed to take measures necessary to qualify for full integration into the Olympic movement. Reorganization is called for on the basis of versions of sports that would lend themselves to integration.


2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin H. Geyer

Sports have always been used to promote the nation state and the invention of national traditions with national symbols such as flags and national hymns playing an important role. This article looks at the peculiar situation of the post-war period when two Germanys established themselves also in the field of sports, yet cooperated in some athletic disciplines, and, most important of all, at the Olympic Games until 1968. This raised a great number of delicate political questions, particularly the politics of the nonrecognition of the GDR which strove hard to establish itself internationally by way of the international sports movement. Konrad Adenauer and the German Sports Organization clashed on this issue which brought to the fore the question of a German and an emerging West-German identity. In order to describe this negotiation of the nation state in the realm of sports, this article tries to make fruitful use of the term postnationalism in order to understand the ambiguities of identity of Germans towards their nation state. It also takes a brief look at the Olympic Games of 1972, which epitomizes more than anything else the peculiar postnationalism of the Federal Republic.


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