The Russian oligarch has moved on from Arsenal to Everton but more intriguing is his decision to buy Pierre de Coubertin’s 1892 manifesto and donate it to the Olympic MuseumAt last, the mystery buyer of the world’s most expensive piece of sports memorabilia has been revealed as the Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov. The cuddly oligarch purchased Pierre de Coubertin’s original 1892 Olympic manifesto for $8.8m (£6.8m) in December – a whole week after he had suggested Wada’s Russian doping ban was a “lynching”, and a whole two weeks after the IOC president, Thomas Bach, had awarded Usmanov the IOC Trophy of Olympic Values in his capacity as the deep-pocketed bankroller and president of the International Fencing Federation. As Bach advised...
Ever since Peter O’Connor scaled a flagpole in Athens to call out Olympic unfairness the stage was set for winning athletes to make powerful statements. So why outlaw it now?Some called him the Antelope. Others the King of Spring. But, above all, Peter O’Connor was a revolutionary. These days the exploits of the Irishman have been all but forgotten, yet at the 1906 Olympics in Athens he caused a worldwide stir by staging the first – and quite possibly greatest – podium protest in history.And what a protest it was. O’Connor was incensed enough when he was told he had to represent Great Britain despite being selected by the Gaelic Athletic Association to compete for Ireland. But matters got even...
Anthony Joshua’s fight in Saudi Arabia this week once more raises questions about the choice of venue for big eventsTwo scenes. Two British sporting icons. Variations on a theme. Scene one: a supremely jet-lagged Anthony Joshua in a Heathrow hotel in September. After several softballs about his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr, the question finally comes. Why fight in Saudi Arabia when Amnesty International says the regime is using you to sportswash its “abysmal” human rights record that includes using public beheadings as a weapon to crush dissent?“I appreciate them voicing an opinion,” replies Joshua, before stressing he is not a superhero who can zap away the world’s problems by donning a cape. When pressed, he mumbles something about “reforms”...
The stars of track and field need a powerful and independent union to protect them from abuse from the sportswear giant and the mismanagement of the governing bodyWhat more can one say about Nike except that in a hotly contested field it once again leads the way in being the biggest hypocrite in global sport?It urges women to Dream Crazier, throwing the spotlight on female stars who have shattered barriers and inspired the next generation, while also telling others, such as Allyson Felix and Alysia Montaño, that they will pause or reduce their contracts when they get pregnant. Related: Nike investigates claims of ‘emotional and physical abuse’ at Oregon Project Related: Mary Cain ‘emotionally and physically abused’ by Alberto Salazar’s...
Mixed messages from officials and disciplinary panels suggests a breakdown in communication as the sport tries to evolveThere is a plaque on the wall at Rugby School, commemorating the exploits of William Webb Ellis, who “with a fine disregard for the rules of football first took the ball in his arms and ran with it”. There are reasons to be suspicious about this origin myth. Like the idea, wildly implausible to anyone even vaguely acquainted with the species, that any self-respecting English PE teacher would have praised Webb Ellis’s wit and ingenuity rather than cursed him for his pig-ignorance and set him to doing press-ups in punishment. Still, that’s the story and, two centuries later, it’s Webb Ellis’s name on...