Photo Courtesy of Flickr
Chloe Kim winning gold at the victory ceremony of the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games in Norway
By Gigi Picard ’22
Sports Editor
Content warning: this article mentions sexual assault and racism.
In a series of diplomatic boycotts, several nations, including the United States, United Kingdom and Canada sent athletes, but no official delegations, to Beijing for the Winter Olympic Games. According to the BBC, this month’s boycotts were in opposition to the Chinese government’s human rights violations against Uyghur Muslim citizens.
The BBC reported that the Beijing Winter Olympics kicked off with preliminary events on Feb. 2. The opening ceremony did not occur until Feb. 4. The Games host over 3,000 athletes across 109 events. With the games located in Beijing, China became the first country to host both a summer and winter Olympic Games.
The Olympics website continues to track the medal count with Norway as the leading country with 28 medals, followed by the Russian Olympic Committee with 24 and the United States with 19. Despite a mix of scandals involving the U.S. and the ROC, Team USA has set several records so far, as of Feb. 14.
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Nathan Chen at the 2018 Internationaux de France Awarding Ceremony
Standout athletes from the United States include Erin Jackson, Nathan Chen, Chloe Kim and Shaun White — the five-time Olympian snowboarder who has announced that these Games will be his last. NBC’s Olympics coverage hailed Erin Jackson as the “first Black woman to win individual gold at Winter Olympics” after her performance in the 500-meter speed skating event. Chen won a gold medal in the men’s single and a silver medal in the team event for figure skating. Meanwhile, Kim took the gold in the women’s snowboarding halfpipe. On the men’s halfpipe, White placed fourth, leaving him without a medal, behind Japan’s Ayumu Hirano, Australia’s Scotty James and Jan Scherrer of Switzerland.
While these athletes’ achievements have made headlines, the Games have also been met with controversy. According to The Washington Post, ROC’s figure skater Kamila Valieva, who is 15 years old, tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance known as trimetazidine. The Washington Post reported that Valieva tested positive in late December 2021, though her results were not reported until Feb. 8, when they were revealed by a lab in Sweden. The New York Times added that the positive results were “not confirmed and relayed to Russian officials, and then to her, for more than six weeks.” The Russia Anti-Doping Agency, RUSADA, was unaware of the results until Feb 7., which coincided with the day Valieva won gold. CNN reported that trimetazidine is known to help poor blood flow to the heart, and in sports the drug is able to “increase blood flow and improve endurance for athletes,” which is why the drug is considered performance-enhancing.
The Washington Post reported that, according to the International Testing Agency, Valieva was given a provisional suspension from the RUSADA. However, CNN reported, Valieva appealed the suspension on Feb. 9, and RUSADA lifted her suspension after a hearing on the same day. CNN confirmed after another hearing on Feb. 14 that the Court of Arbitration for Sport decided Valieva would be allowed to skate in the women’s single skating event. However, NBC News stated that the International Olympic Committee would not have a medal ceremony if Valieva placed in the top three. The CAS was unsure if Valieva was truly doping, which the IOC called an “inconclusive situation.” The New York Times reported that this current controversy comes eight years after Russia was banned from competing in the Games, following a large-scale doping scandal.
Further controversy surfaced as former Team USA snowboarder Callan Chythlook-Sifsof made a series of allegations over Instagram beginning on Sunday Feb. 6, according to OutSports. Chythlook-Sisof accused the team’s head coach, Peter Foley, of sexual misconduct, stating that he had been taking nude photos of female athletes for 10 years. According to Daily Mail, she further claimed that her former teammate Hagen Kearney made numerous racist and sexist remarks, such as using the n-word and making rape jokes about women.
Daily Mail also shared what Chythlook-Sifsof’s now-deleted Instagram post said.
“This is the truth. I will not carry this stuff around anymore, there was bizarre behavior across the board. The people I’ve named have overtly behaved toxically but the truth is the culture on the team protected this behavior,” Chythlook-Sifsof wrote. “Other athletes have in engaged in racist, misogynist behavior, actively participated in the strange dynamics that Peter Foley created and caused female athletes/ staff to be victims of sexual violence.”
According to Daily Mail, Foley denied the allegations, while Kearney stated that he is now a better person who has “learned from his mistakes.” Despite the accusations, Foley will continue coaching for Team USA during the winter games, which conclude on Feb. 20, 2022.