OTHMAN ALOTHMAN WRITES- Nike-sponsored Kuwaiti athlete Yaqoub Alyouha brought back a gold medal in the World Athletics Indoor Championships on February 4, 2020 in Dusseldorf, Germany. His time, 7.54s in the 60m hurdle, makes him the second- fastest Asian ever to run it. This came as a shock to the…
Full Article PRO ATHLETICS IN KUWAIT: GREAT STRIDES, BUT STILL A PART- TIME JOB
JACQUELINE DILANCHYAN WRITES – Jaws, as well as reputations, dropped after a second athlete from Asia was caught doping at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. After Japanese speed skater Kei Saito was sent home from the Olympic Village after becoming the first athlete at the 2018 Olympic Games to return…
Full Article RUSSIA: CURLING SCANDAL FLOORS WORLD OPINION MORE THAN SPEED-SKATER KAITO
DYLAN RAMOS WRITES – Looks like all those prayers and shrine visits fans made for Yuzuru Hanyu’s victory sure paid off. Oh, and more than a bit of practice, I’m sure. As for what happened on February 17, Jack Gallagher might have already put it best for The Japan Times,…
Full Article JAPAN: YUZURU HANYU, ICING HIS PLACE IN THE PANTHEON OF SKATING LEGENDS
TRUMAN DALY WRITES – It is widely known that the Olympics take a heavy economic toll on the host country. With this in mind, the question must be asked: What kind of economic effect did the 2018 Winter Games have on PyeongChang? If economist Andrew Zimbalist is to be believed,…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: Tallying the total for Winter Olympics
EMILY CARMAN WRITES – North Korea withdrew its participation from a pre-Olympic intercultural event set to take place on Monday, February 4. The event would have combined popular artists from the North and South, and was set to take place at the Mt. Kumgang Resort in North Korea, a location…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: BACKS OUT OF PRE-OLYMPIC EVENT
TRUMAN DALY WRITES — The last time the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea appeared at the Olympics was after the end of the Korean War. Fast forward 54 years, the DPRK and the Republic of Korea have put forth a unified women’s ice hockey team for the 2018 Winter Olympics…
Full Article KOREA: North and South Korea Announce Joint Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey
SABRINA VERDUZCO WRITES – People often think of the Olympics as a time of both unity and peace between countries. Despite numerous political, economic, social, and religious differences, sportsmanship brings people from all around the world together to celebrate unity and human ability. North and South Korea are no exception. …
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: OLYMPIC DIPLOMACY AT ITS BEST
MIA MARTIN WRITES – ArtReview’s “Most Powerful Artist in the World,” Ai Weiwei was at one point hand-selected by the Chinese government to design the Beijing Olympics Bird’s Nest Stadium. Now, Weiwei has been thrown in jail by his own government and currently has his passport confiscated. The Chinese government…
Full Article POLITICAL ART: Skype > GovernmentLEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Is it English or ego? Former Prime Minister and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Organizing Committee President Yoshiro Mori sparked controversy at a news conference held at the Main Media Center for the Sochi Games when questioned about why he spoke in Japanese rather than English. Mori,…
Full Article JAPAN: Language and Gender Spark Debate at 2020 Olympic Press ConferenceCATHERINE KIM WRITES – Victor Ahn, a.k.a. Ahn Hyun-Soo, is now a Russian hero after winning the nation’s first-ever gold medal in the 1,000 meters short-track speed skating at the Sochi Winter Olympics. After winning first place, Ahn skated to the center of the ice, got down on all fours and…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: A Bittersweet Win for South KoreaAs the countdown begins to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the government and its media seem to be playing their own media games. A Hong Kong’s cable TV outfit says it is desperate for government approval of its free-to-air license for the Games. Without this approval, many of the city’s sports…
Full Article HONG KONG: Who Will Win the Olympic ‘Media’ Medal?