As the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing approach, scrutiny on China as a host is back in focus. Its on-going record of human rights abuses  - most recently, between the treatment of its Muslim minority to the subjugation of Hong Kong - is depressing. And, it's a legitimate question on whether such a regime should be showcased as host of a "sportswashing" event like the Olympics.

That this conversation is happening shouldn't come as a surprise. It was certainly previewed in the contest to host these Games. As more palatable candidates dropped out of the bidding race, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was left with two options in 2015: Beijing and Almaty. Despite experiencing similar concerns ahead of its hosting of the 2008 Summer Games, China really was the lesser of two evils...Kazakhstan was and is no humanitarian state, either.

So, Beijing it is, unless the IOC inconceivably decides to move the event. So, the calls for an Olympic boycott are increasing. Some of it is political grandstanding - in the United States, at least, an easy way to pressure the current administration while preaching righteousness. But athletes are chattering, too, while China remains defiant.

Which begs the question...do Olympic boycotts even work? Let's look at history.

1956 Melbourne
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Multiple nations stayed away from Australia's first Summer Games, for a variety of reasons. In response to the Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary just before the start of the Games, Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands pulled out. Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq boycotted as a result of the Suez Crisis with Israel. And, China (the Peoples Republic) officially boycotted since China (Taiwan) was allowed entry. 

At that time, probably only the Netherlands' absence affected general competition quality. And, decades later, it's viewed by the Dutch as "the black page in the Olympic history for the Netherlands". It's hard to argue that the boycott influenced outside events, as the trajectories of the Cold War, Middle East crisis, and Chinese territorial fights continued well past 1956.

1964 Tokyo

Due to political discrimination at the separate Games of New Emerging Forces (GANEFO) in 1963, those participating athletes were barred from the 1964 Games. Thus, Indonesia and North Korea pulled all their athletes from the Olympics.

The resulting legacy of the 1964 boycott is simply a missed opportunity to see North Korean Sin Kim-Dan, then the world record-holder, compete in the women's track 800 meters. That had promised to be one of the more intriguing events on the track.

As for GANEFO? Built as a direct competition to the Olympics by Indonesia, it was officially dead by 1970.

I admit, I am usually bit delinquent in staying current with Olympic-themed books and film, but I have rather recently made a commitment to catch-up. Progress! Better late than never! Right?

So...over the holidays (told you I'm running behind), I finally caught up with two books that had long burned holes in my to-read pile. Both struck me as key pieces for my Olympic fandom, and I'm thrilled that I finally experienced them.

I'll share some quick thoughts:

​Running for My Life (Lopez Lomong and Mark A. Tabb, 2012)

Subtitled One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games, Running for my Life is just that: the telling of U.S. runner Lopez Lomong's dramatic life ahead of his second Olympic appearance at London 2012.

​By 2012, the general story of Lomong's background was well-known. Born in South Sudan, he and his family were subject to the brutal civil war there which displaced countless people. At age six, Lomong was kidnapped from his village, and after escaping militants, spent ten years at a refugee camp as a "Lost Boy" in Kenya. In 2001, he was selected for resettlement in New York state, and he eventually took advantage of his running talent through high school and college, and onto the national level. Earning U.S. citizenship in 2007, he earned a spot on Team USA for Beijing 2008.

But Running for My Life is an autobiography, so we encounter this story in Lomong's own words and personal retrospection. And his telling of dramatic moments is poignant and inspiring. It's harrowing, to read his of his experience yet throughout, he maintains a positivity that belies any readers' discomfort. His charming wide-eyed-ness comes into best view as he settles, at times awkwardly, into a new life in the States and with a welcoming host family. From there, life is quick...his running prowess allowing him to integrate better than perhaps he would have otherwise. 

Lomong eventually finished 10th in the 5,000 meters at the London Olympics. Since, he's added four national championships and two NACA Championships, and he is still active in running and humanitarian work.

His story is a powerful one, and an important one to consider when seeing the United States - and its national team  - as a melting pot. His is a unique story, and his success is unique piece of Team USA's fabric.

The Olympic Games: The First Thousand Years (M.I. Finley and H.W. Pieket, 2012)

 Also from 2012 - although a republication of a 1976 edition (!) - The Olympic Games is a fascinating review of the origins of the Games, looking back to Ancient Greece.

Certainly, any true Olympics fan will want to be familiar with its origin story. And while The Olympic Games is a scholarly work, it's definitely readable. Reviewing a period from 776 B.C. to A.D. 261, the authors take us through the place and prestige of the Olympics at the time, juxtaposed with context of what was happening sociopolitically during these years.

​Understanding the Olympics as one of four Panhellenic Games, including the Nemean, Pythian, and Isthmian, is a revelation. All four Games were held regularly, in fixed locations - the Olympics in Olympia - and the intervening years helped the Greeks measure time. Athletes, in general rule Greek and of means, routinely participated in multiple Games. Surprisingly or not, sponsorship and politics played a role as years went on and popularity grew, challenging some modern romantic notion of the ancient purity of competition. The Olympics, the largest of the Panhellenic Games, lasted into Roman rule, but eventually fell into disfavor.

Details abound in The Olympic Games, and fans should revel in the descriptive accounts of the competition and its respect. One aspect interestingly filled out is the legendary Olympic truce. Rather than a complete stoppage of war, it's more true that warring parties would allow athlete travel, and would respect a no-battle zone around competition sites.

It's a fascinating look at the times, and what the Games are thought to have been like, and have meant to the populace then. I'll be revisiting this book often as I continue to consider the modern Games.

Bring on 2021!

Along with millions of Olympic and sports fans, I'm wishing for a successful, smooth, and healthy Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. After this year's postponement, there are still serious lingering concerns on participant and spectator Covid-19 protocol, which likely won't be answered until the springtime at the earliest. But we do need a "beacon of hope" to help frame a pandemic recovery. And, today, I choose to look at the glass half-full to start off the year.

I certainly am an Olympics fan. I have been since first falling in awe with the spectacle at Los Angeles 1984. From tradition of ceremony, to compelling competition, and from unsung heroes to the camaraderie of various athletes coming together, I am all in.

That said, my fandom doesn't mean that I don't have some recommendations. So, in honor of the new year, here are Games and Rings' top ten wishes for the Olympics in 2021.

Let me know what your own wishes are in the comments.

​Run, Caster, Run

Middle-distance runner Caster Semenya has one more appeal up her sleeve, to the European Court of Human Rights. Double Olympic champion in the 800 meters, Semenya is currently blocked from defending her title unless she takes testosterone-inhibiting measures, under somewhat arbitrary and selectively exclusionary new World Athletics rules.

As argued a few months ago, World Athletics is on the wrong side of history's trajectory toward human rights in this case. Semenya was born female and is female. She - like some others - is just a female with elevated - but natural - testosterone, and who happened to win the genetics lottery suited for a career in athletics. Why should she be punished for that? Let her run.

Protest for Change

Team USA recently announced not only that "It is a human right to peacefully call upon racial and social injustices during the...Games" but also that "denying the right of respectful demonstrations...runs counter to the Olympic...values."

Wow. This doesn't just run counter to Team USA's own recent actions - just ask fencer Race Imboden and hammer thrower Gwen Berry for their thoughts - it runs against the International Olympic Committee's own Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which bans any political protest, including kneeling or even wearing an armband. The IOC even issued its Rule 50 guidelines at the start of the year.

But a year filled with Black Lives Matter activism and increased racial awareness sure can change perspective. World Athletics, representing track & field, issued a President's Award to Mexico City 1968 protestors Tommie Smith and John Carlos (and fellow medalist Peter Norman), a surprising indication that maybe the organization will support its own athletes' Olympic protests. 

For its part, the IOC did give a tepid "we'll look into it" response to Team USA's recommendations. Of course, determining "appropriate" allowable protest and over what issue would be problematic on a global stage like the Olympics, with the wide variety of national interests and backgrounds. But isn't the Olympic stage built on inspiration and striving for better-ness? Will we see a meaningful gesture that spurs conversation toward greater social good? Will the IOC act supportively? Yes, I'm anxious to see it.

A Russian Comeuppance

In its bid to dominate its home Games of Sochi 2014, Russia undertook a doping system that provided its athletes with performance-enhancement and an elaborate coverup. That this was a state-level scheme is no longer in dispute.

What has been the punishment? Four years later, at Pyeongchang 2018, "Russia" was banned but Russian athletes were allowed to compete under an "Olympic Athletes from Russia" moniker. Huh? Essentially, Russian officials were absent, as was the Russian flag and anthem, but otherwise, the team carried on. Really, "Russia" still participated...their flag was honored and their anthem sung.

In 2016, the IOC declined to ban Russia outright despite recommendations by the World Anti-Doping Agency to do just that and following confirmation of deeper state-level manipulation. World Athletics took matters into its own hands and heavily restricted Russian presence in track & field, but elsewhere across the Games, Russia flourished.

Now, after an appeal of a stronger WADA ban, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has reduced penalties and restored possible Russian participation at the Games. This will likely again come under a "neutral" banner. The upcoming World Men's Handball Championship next month offers a template, with Team Russia becoming Team "Russian Handball Federation", while still wearing team colors. To paraphrase, if it looks like Russia and carries the name "Russian", it is Russia.

Not much of a punishment for carrying out the largest doping affront against the Olympics, state-sponsored no less. Russia's actions in Sochi disrespected the Games, and its role as host, to say the least. And, so far, Russia has, as U.S. Anti-Doping Agency head Travis Tygart said in response to the recent CAS reduction, "once again escape(d) a meaningful consequence proportional to the crimes...".

What can be done? A repeat of 2018's "Olympic Athletes from Russia" team seems on the way, which has shown to not be much of a deterrence. Although they didn't in 2016, perhaps individual federations should take World Athletics' lead in restricting participation within their own sports. In the meantime, I'm wishing for a subdued Russian presence...maybe somehow there's a team-wide demoralization that affects performance. That's unlikely, but something needs to shake Russia into sincere compliance. Fair, and trusted Olympic-spirit competition needs it.

A Full-Strength Basketball Tournament

The Covid-19 pandemic has upended the sporting calendar in 2020, with ripple effects across next year and beyond as all sports negotiate the Olympic behemoth planted now in 2021. At this stage, many rescheduled dates have been set, and one potential high-profile conflict has emerged over the last few weeks.

The National Basketball Association's modified 2019-20 season, which should have ended in June 2020, finished in October. This pushed their 2020-21 season to start later than normal, in December, which then pushed the potential NBA Finals end to July 22. That's one day ahead of the Opening Ceremony for Tokyo 2020. This means a significant number of potential Olympians would not be available, or interested, in Tokyo participation given the tight turnaround between the NBA season and the Games, particularly for those that will be making deep post-season runs.

U.S. stars are not the only ones affected. Spain's team usually features NBA-ers Ricky Rubio, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and Nikola Mirotic. Rudy Gobert plays for France, while Patty Mills, Ben Simmons, and Matthew Dellavedova feature for Australia.

Olympic qualification is massively affected, too. Usually, the final Olympic Qualifying Tournaments are held in the NBA off-season. But now in 2021, the qualifiers are set for late June, which would mean in the middle of the NBA post-season play. Would-be stars for the teams trying to qualify in these tournaments include Slovenia's Luka Doncic and Goran Dragic, Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Serbia's Nikola Jokic...not having them available would carry serious implications for their national teams' Olympic dreams.

Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich is well aware of the timing conundrum, and he's in a tight turnaround, too, as an active NBA coach. Having an NBA-star-studded Olympic tournament has been a highlight of the Games since Barcelona 1992, and I'm hoping that Tokyo's version will also feature the world's best. I'm not sure how this will happen...it's unlikely a significant number of star players will miss the NBA playoffs and not be too tired to play on, but we'll see how it plays out. I also fear that, if NBA-ers pass on the Games en masse, it will set a precedent on not appearing at the Games, allowing the NBA to further push their World Cup at the expense of the Olympics.

Still thinking about last week's Court of Arbitration for Sport decision on Russia's punishment for its Olympic-sized doping scheme. Here's a good piece speaking to the, well, head scratching that the outcome has produced. I'll Also let Emma Coburn sum up the immediate frustration many athletes feel..

Tara Geraghty-Moats wins a historic Nordic Combined, the first-ever World Cup event for women.

I think sport climbing is the first individual sport to have its Olympic field for 2020 complete, after the remaining continental championships concluded this weekend. Congrats to Australians Tom O'Halloran and Oceania Mackenzie and South Africans Christopher Coffer and Erin Sterkenburg who round out the competition for Tokyo.

Larisa Iordache makes a statement in her return to elite gymnastics, after an injury-filled last few years. Iordache led the Romanian women to a team silver in the European Championships this weekend, and won three individual medals to become the second-most medaled female in the event ever. Unfortunately, her comeback is too late for the Tokyo 2020 field, but perhaps she can spark a welcome Romanian team comeback of its own at the senior level.

"Wee Rooster" Brendan Irvine is eager for his second Games in boxing, after becoming the last to qualify for Tokyo 2020 before the pandemic shutdown this year.

Ever wonder what Olympian Gus Kenworthy's home looks like? Architectural Digest has you covered. (p.s. check out his patio, too)

Modern pentathlete Gintare Venckauskaite is ready for her second Games, after her strong debut at London 2012.

Track cyclist Felix English interviews with the Olympic Federation of Ireland on the drama of Olympic qualification for Tokyo 2020.

​Tennis legend Roger Federer still has Olympic dreams, hoping for the elusive singles gold.

Covid-19 strikes Japan's leading medal hope in karate's kata event at Tokyo 2020, Ryo Kiyuna.

U.S. basketball standout Diana Taurasi - four-time Olympic gold medalist - tells ESPN that she doesn't have any plans to retire anytime soon.

More basketball: Star player Ramu Tokashiki tears her ACL, and likely sinks Team Japan optimism for a good Tokyo 2020 run. (Was my feature last week of Tokashiki as an athlete worth watching a curse??)

Mission Accomplished: world record holder Kevin Mayer meets the Olympic qualifying standard in the decathlon event on Reunion Island this weekend. (But what has he done to his hair??)

Marie-Jose Perec is French Athletics' athlete of the century.

New African Magazine names long distance runners Brigid Kosgei and Joshua Cheptegei as two of their "100 Most Influential Africans" for 2020.

Hear from Renaud Lavillenie on an appreciation for athletes' voices and his work to give them profile in the latest feature from Spikes.

She's 57, and on her way to her fifth Olympics as Tokyo 2020's oldest table tennis player, Meet Luxembourg's Ni Xialian.