Total Olympics (2021)
A Quick Book Review

I'm so glad to have found - belatedly - Jeremy Fuchs' 2020 publication "Total Olympics", a compilation of 'Every Obscure, Hilarious, Dramatic, and Inspiring Tale Worth Knowing', as its subtitle aptly puts it. Although it was published in advance of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, I only recently made it through - call it my own Olympic postponement!

As an ardent Olympics fan, I'll eat up all the facts and fun anecdotes I can find. And, Total Olympics is in a sense an homage to the spirit of David Wallechinsky's The Complete Book of the Olympics, long the standard of Olympic encyclopedia. For those missing The Complete Book since the last edition ahead of Sochi 2014, Fuchs' work is a good introduction to the broad spectrum of rich stories that the Games provide.

Many of the tales in Total Olympics​ will be familiar to those deeply experienced with Olympic history, but Fuchs does offer moments of unique perspective, particularly in his division of certain chapters by Olympian siblings, Olympic 'firsts', Olympic criminals, or Eastern Bloc athletes, for example.

And, of course, reporting of post-2014 Olympic facts takes us further than Wallechinsky had. Witness Bode Miller's unfortunate turn at commentating and Manteo Mitchell's broken leg exploits.

Although, certain retrospectives of older Olympians and moments were revelations, too. Some particular 'new', deeper insights for me included gymnastics legend Laryssa Latynina's proud and dominant personality, the depth of Denver 1976's ineptitude (those Games were moved to Innsbruck), the resilience of gymnast Agnes Keleti, rower Henry Pearce's face-ff with a family of ducks in 1928, Lamine Gueye's breakthrough skiing, equestrian Humberto Mariles' 'colorful' post-Games career, the drive of Melbourne 1956 champion Tom Courtney, and the fact that skijoring was a one-time demonstration sport.

Notable ancient Olympians - Herodotus, Leonidas, etc. - and Paralympians  - particularly Trischa Zorn and Marlon Shirley - get proper recognition, too, which is a feature not found in cursory Olympic research, including Wallechinsky's work.

But the real pleasure for me was a sense of kindred spirit of fandom that is the crux of Total Olympics. The perseverance of Team USA's debut women's swim team at Antwerp 1920 - "but they persisted..." - and the everlasting dignity of discus thrower Al Oerter - "There is something about the Games that gets in your blood. All those people from those various nations, all with the same purpose...I can really get charged up about the Olympics" - showcase the excitement and emotion of the Olympics. Thanks, Total Olympics - I'll visit and revisit those stories always.

CBS News' recent 60 Minutes profile of Chinese dissident artist Badiucao gave mention to his new work highlighting China's role as next month's Winter Olympics host in Beijing. A political satirist since 2011 now in exile, Badiucao looks to target his home government through provocative and searing street art and cartoons. And his new pieces debuted this past fall certainly strike into the rich territory of human rights abuses and authoritarian control that critics of the upcoming Olympic host have broadcast.

Badiucao has now also announced his Olympic-inspired art available as "open edition NFTs" (non-fungible tokens)​ beginning February 1, just days before the Games officially begin. This way, his art will be a "public decentralized record of protest", broadening his reach and the ability for global comment.

While this NFT experiment is certainly a modern moment of today's times, the idea of street art or cartoons used to target the Olympics is not. Of course, the global phenomenon that is the Games, carrying the global audience, expense, and self-purported lofty goals of unity, is always bound to attract scrutiny.

Typically, protest art has mined the issues of potential environmental destruction, the exploding expenses, the "sports-washing" of host abuses, or bloated infrastructure. At times, hosts even seem to too readily open themselves up...the militarization against student activists just ahead of Mexico City 1968 and the razing of favelas to clean up Rio 2016's image were tailor-made for artistic objection.

Beyond those usual issues, the current Covid-19 pandemic opened up a new concern for activists. In Tokyo, a local magazine parodied Tokyo 2020's staging with an Olympic emblem-inspired mock-up with a pandemic twist. Naturally, it was not well-received in Olympic circles.

In his PhD research, USC professor Henry Jenkins delves deep into some of the history of Olympic protest art, commenting that "anti-Olympic art puts a spotlight on those who are excluded from the sports event and caught up in large processes of exclusion related to the Olympics". Check out his excellent collection of protest imagery on Flickr.

The Olympics can be problematic. I get it - too big, too lofty, too expensive, too ripe for authoritarian abuse. But like Jenkins was, I am a "sucker for the branding". I remain a fan.

But I also enjoy a good piece of Olympic satire. My favorite? It might be Criminal Chalkist's "100 meter Dash 2011" appearing in Bristol ahead of London 2012, and considered a rebuke of Olympic commercialization.

So...what Olympic protest art has struck a nerve with you?

This past July, the International Olympic Committee added ski mountaineering to the Winter Games program for Milano Cortina 2026. It's the first full sport addition to the Winter Olympics since Salt Lake City 2002, when skeleton reappeared, last seen at St. Moritz 1948.

That's in stark comparison to the Summer Games, which has seen relatively greater fluctuation in its program - Tokyo 2020 saw baseball & softball, karate, 3x3 basketball, surfing, sport climbing, and skateboarding all join the program, at least for that one edition. What's more, Beijing 2022 will feature only 109 medal events, compared to 339 at Tokyo 2020 during a same 12-day window.

Granted, it has traditionally been tougher to expand the winter program, as host sites have tended to be smaller in size; winter ski resort destinations like St. Moritz or Lake Placid. But Salt Lake City 2002, Vancouver 2010, Beijing 2022 and even Milano Cortina 2026 buck that old trend, and reports of larger candidates for 2030 - Salt Lake City again, Sapporo, or Barcelona, for example - show that hosts can be found to accommodate more athletes and venues.

That got me thinking...what are some other new sports or new disciplines of existing sports out there that could or should fit into a Winter Olympics? Let's take a look...

Bandy
Ice hockey is currently the only true team sport on the Winter Olympics (curling doesn't count as a team "ball" sport!). Bandy is similar to ice hockey but is played with eleven players each side (vs six in hockey) and a ball (vs a puck) on a larger rink. It's certainly global - twenty nations took part across the 2019 and 2020 men's world championships A and B divisions, including Russia, Sweden, Japan, China, the U.S., Great Britain...even Somalia and Mongolia.

​Bandy did appear as a demonstration sport at Oslo 1952, but hasn't gotten serious conversation on a return since despite Federation of International Bandy interest. So what gives? Some think there's an unfortunate legacy of a grudge. Maybe some think there isn't room for another team sport. Maybe, with only eight teams in the most recent women's world championship, some feel there isn't enough gender parity. But it'd be a good addition, especially if and when the National Hockey League balks again at participation.

Pyeongchang 2018 silver medalist Hwang Dae Heon can focus on an upgrade at Beijing 2022, now that he's made the South Korean short track quad.

A record number of 17 winter sport athletes are up for election to two vacancies on the IOC Athletes' Commission for Beijing 2022.

South China Morning Post: Might swimmer Stephanie Au make it to a fifth Games for Hong Kong, while juggling a fashion career?

Taekwondo champion teenaged athlete Anastasija Zolotic on being an inspiration: "Just love what you do and keep pushing."

Tokyo 2020 water polo Olympian Kaleigh Gilchrist gets featured in Locale alongside three other 'inspiring' Southern California female athletes.

Will alpine skier Charlie Guest be joined at Beijing 2022 by her sister Katie for a unique sibling appearance across the Olympics and Paralympics?

​Meanwhile, superstar skier Mikaela Shiffrin plans a busy Olympic schedule at Beijing 2022.

Freestyle skiers Perrine Laffont and Hugo Laugier hit the slopes as models for a new Balmain & Rossignol design collaboration.

Australian canoeist Jessica Fox gets "a bizarre honor" in horse racing in recognition of her Olympic success.

Olympics.com has "six amazing things" about Team Great Britain's bobsledder Mica McNeill.

Tokyo 2020 Olympians in Naomi Osaka (tennis), Jordan Larson (volleyball), and Allyson Felix (track & field) among honorees at the Women's Sports Foundation annual 'salute'.

Distance runner Joshua Cheptegei and steeplechaser Peruth Chemutai reap financial rewards in Uganda for their Tokyo 2020 gold.

Hurdler Thomas Barr spends a night on the street to support Focus on Ireland's homelessness awareness.

Meanwhile, top hurdler Karsten Warholm wins European Athlete of the Year honors (having also won in 2019) alongside distance runner Sifan Hassan.

Decathlete Damian Warner has plans to not rest on Tokyo 2020 laurels, and continue to push into the 'elite' pantheon of decathletes.

Meaghan Mikkelson's hopes for a fourth Olympic ice hockey appearance for Team Canada may rest on a tender knee.

Olympic Talk catches up with retired USA figure skater Ashley Wagner, coming to terms with career disappointment at Pyeongchang 2018.

Will the World Championships this week be the final competition for gymnastics great  Mai Murakami?

Former International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge passed away over the weekend, at age 79. Rogge served as president from 2001-2013, overseeing three Summer and three Winter Games during his terms.

The highlights of his presidency were perhaps the critical successes of Vancouver 2010, and London 2012, as well as recognition for his support of the Paralympics and the establishment of the Youth Olympic Games. His tenure had a rocky start, though, as he looked to move the Olympics away from the Salt Lake City 2002 bribery scandal and modernize the IOC away from a perception of arrogance. His first Games - at Salt Lake - featured a significant figure skating judging scandal, solved diplomatically by Rogge and the IOC with a shared pairs gold medal. Rogge also was dogged by critics for a lack of urgency over human rights concerns when Beijing 2008 and Sochi 2014 won their host rights.

Rogge's legacy, though, is largely seen as one of stability and growth. Under Rogge, hosting rights went to South America (Rio 2016) for the first time, and his 'Mr. Clean' reputation helped transition the office away from his predecessor's authoritarian style. That president - Juan Antonio Samaranch - was the IOC's leader when I began an interest in the Games, with Los Angeles 1984, but Rogge's Olympics - particularly at Salt Lake, Athens 2004, Beijing, Vancouver, and London - are ones I watched in adult earnest.

Rogge was a three-time Olympian himself, as a one-person dinghy sailor at Mexico City 1968, Munich 1972, and Montreal 1976, before embarking on a sports medicine, and subsequently, sports organization career. His background as a physician was seen as evident at the IOC, as he looked to listen before diagnosing solutions, and work in an open style of teamwork.

Rogge was an Olympic Order recipient in 2013.

Current IOC president Thomas Bach reflects, "The entire Olympic Movement will deeply mourn the loss of a great friend and a passionate fan of sport".

The Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee offers its condolences for the Ghent-born Rogge, who served as BOIC for three years.

​The Association of National Olympic Committees' Gunilla Lindberg recognized his "enormous contribution to the world of sport." And the European Olympic Committees, for which he once served as president, remembered Rogge's work to deepen relationships with the EOC.

Andrew Parsons of the International Paralympic Committee thanks Rogge for strengthening ties between his group and the Olympics.

The International Olympic Academy issues a resolution in honor of its Honorary President, "a great friend of Greece and its Olympic history".

World Sailing acknowledges the passing of Rogge, a 2007 recipient of the Beppe Croce Trophy for his 'voluntary contribution' to the sport.

​World Rugby notes Rogge's history as a rugby player for Belgium. â€œAn accomplished club and international player, his love for the game was always apparent and the entire rugby family joins the global sporting community in mourning his loss."

​​Sebastian Coe leads the tribute from World Athletics. "He was passionate about sport and all he achieved in sport and beyond was done with common decency, compassion, and a level head."

​Around the Rings finds a unique, Leo Messi-angle, in its memory of Rogge's role in promoting Olympism.

​More...