the Games will wrap up this weekend but there
is plenty of competition to tune into until sunday night
joining us now to discuss the Games is boston Globe reporter Nicole yang Nicole,
welcome to the show.
Happy friday, nice to have you here.
So the Games are nearly over
somehow. They like flew by.
I feel like we're looking forward to the Games for so
long and it's like a tear and now it's gone.
It's been held in a country with a zero covid policy.
How did china do with regards to the coronavirus?
Very well, I would say in terms of just eliminating the threat of the coronavirus,
it was very successful as of friday.
The covid infection rate at the games is at point oh 1%.
So that's an extremely low rate thomas bach.
The IOC president is very pleased with those numbers and I think a
lot of that is attributed to their successful closed loop system and now
there definitely was an emotional toll. Like I think it came at a cost.
A lot of the athletes were unable to see their friends and family and those that did
test positive did have to go into isolation
and there was some question about those conditions.
But in terms of just reducing the threat of covid,
the Games were very successful in that regard.
Maybe not so successful as it pertains to Camilla Valjevo.
I I feel tremendously for this athlete. She's she's 15 years old. Yes
she's one of the greatest athletes in the world for what she does,
there's no denying but the scandal with regards to
the drug test and then as you heard we just
showed the quote there from the IOC president with his concerns
with regards to how her team kind of handled her here.
What is there to take away and learn from from
this unfortunate headline that we've had the last few weeks.
Yeah, Camilla's games took quite a turn.
I mean in the team event she became the
first woman ever to land a quadruple jump and then
in the days after the discovery of this positive test
comes out and everything has sort of gone hill since
gone downhill since I think thomas Fox said it
correctly in his press conference that the IOC is
going to start to carefully review its rules and
see whether the anti doping policies have to be
may be modified or see whether they need to
Implement a minimum-age requirement for the Olympics
because right now there isn't one and Camilla
is only 15 and I think when people talk about this situation and the controversy,
a lot of
the sympathy still goes to her because of her age and because of her status as a minor
and I mean I'm one of many and that's how I let in my question to you.
So how legitimate is that of a potential to now institute um higher
minimum age threshold so to speak to even qualify for the Games.
Yeah I think they are just going to begin those discussions
and it's obviously going to require a lot of careful consideration.
I think a large part of it too is
investigating the R. O. C. And the role that the adults had in this process.
Because again, as thomas bach noted in his press conference yesterday,
very rarely in doping cases, regardless of the age, does the athlete act alone?
Typically there are others involved.
So I think most importantly they need to hold everybody involved um
accountable for their actions.
But then moving forward,
see what they can do to sort of avoid this situation from happening again.
You know, even in your response there, Nicole, you called them the R. O. C.
Which you should, I mean when you watch the olympic games,
they don't fly under the Russian flag, they don't get to call themselves Russia.
There's no suggestion to the Kremlin or Moscow,
this is a team of athletes that does not
that has to be represented in this alternative way.
And yet, here we go, we have another whole scandal.
What does the olympic games really need to do about Russia? Because clearly here,
you're not dealing with a good actor in good faith competition,
definitely.
And I think a huge part of the argument with Camilla is that should the R O. C.
Even be allowed to compete And you look at the fact that they're competing as the R. O.
C.
That indicates that there is
previous controversy regarding their participation.
So I'm not sure what's going to happen moving forward,
especially when you look at their performance, they've had a
obviously this large controversy.
But in terms of a metal account like a relatively successful olympics.
So it'll be interesting to see how everything plays out.
Especially because thomas bach noted that this investigation into Camilla's
case will require the cooperation of the Russian government.
So
a lot still is to be determined.
Let's talk about Eileen Gu here an absolute global sensation
large imparting both in china and the United States.
What are we to make a little bit of the back and forth with regards
to the identity by which she has chosen to play the country she represents?
Rather I should say. And and what is that legacy?
I mean,
what an absolutely incredible competitor and someone that
has been so much fun to watch.
Yeah,
she is by far the breakout star of the olympics and I think she was going
to be a talking point regardless of her
performance because of her decision to switch affiliations.
But the fact that she was able to win two goals and
it's silver like it's just such an incredible games for her.
And
I think
that performance has also spotlighted, you know,
her decision to compete for China instead of the United States as well?
How was the diplomatic boycott
felt on the ground. Did it really make much of a difference when all was said and done.
I don't think so To be honest.
I think the IOC has maintained that the
Games are politically neutral and they have encouraged,
you know, all officials and athletes to sort of
abide by that while in china and while at the game.
So questions are asked about, you know, politics.
Like for example,
Eileen Gu was asked whether she made a human rights
compromise in competing for china instead of the United States,
but athletes are very good at deflecting the questions and
not sort of getting into the weeds of those matters.
Yeah, they certainly are. And we've spoken with many of them here on the show.
Finally, viewership is down here for NBC. Does that even matter at this point?
Um, I guess it's hard to say given, you know,
the rise of streaming services and things like that.
I will say that the organizing committee did say that
the numbers in china are the best they've ever been.
It was one of the most watched the opening ceremonies was one
of the most watched programs for them this year on television.
So I guess it sort of depends what you value in terms of numbers and things like that.
I will say there might be a little bit of olympic fatigue just given
how close the Winter Games are to the Summer Games because of the coronavirus.
So
I guess it depends,
um,
sort of how you feel about broadcast numbers and if that's indicative of success,
I hate to think there was covid excusing olympic fatigue though.
I don't doubt that there was to some degree.
I lost so much sleep the last few weeks just
thinking I just got when the olympics are gone,
they're gone.
I won't have them to watch anymore so I gotta stay up until one o'clock in the morning.
That's how I justified it every night. I know I'm not alone and
what a game. Yeah I'm gonna rap. But you got anything else there? Nicole
I was gonna say and that's a great point to a lot of the events were happening
at 12:30 a.m. It's hard to think that a lot of people are staying up for that.
I tried to watch every U. S. Women's hockey game that I could. I'm glad that I did.
Even if I'm exhausted here.
By the time we reached friday reporter at the boston globe, Nicole yang, Nicole.
Thanks a lot for your perspective. Happy friday, enjoy your weekend.
Thanks for helping us better understand
the olympic games both on and off the ice.