The Olympic Games being a global event in which majority of countries take part, always draws international attention at all levels. Any untowardly incident can send a shiver of diplomatic concern across the length and breadth of the world. In 1936 the Nazis chose the Olympics as a platform for propagating their radical notions. The Soviet Union did not participate in the Olympics until the 1952 Helsinki event. Instead they set up an independent games event named Spartakiads and invited other countries to join. Several countries, especially those that believed in communist ideologies, took part in the Spartakiads and not in the Olympics. The Olympic association too reacted by not allowing some of the athletes to participate in the Olympics anymore.
The Mexico Summer Olympics in 1968 witnessed another political dispute that involved Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two African Americans who were winners of the two hundred meters track and field event. Trouble seemed to occur when these two athletes did the black power salutation after they had come victorious. This act enraged Avery Brundage, the president of the International Olympic Committee and he promptly ordered either to send the two athletes back home immediately or to call back the entire team of track and field. Following this controversy, Iran had asked their athletes not to take part in the Olympics. This unfortunate chapter is seen as one of the major problems faced at Olympic. Eventually the two athletes had to go back home.
Doping problems have always been a thorn in the crown at the Olympic events. Controversies have continued to mar the respectability and popularity of games from time to time as participants have been accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs. This trend of using drugs to improve performance started at the dawn of the twentieth century and has been going on as an increasing cause for concern not just to the International Olympic Committee, but more to the respective Olympic associations. Participants found guilty of using illegal drugs are banned from taking part in future games. The first recorded instance of such problems faced at Olympic involved Thomas J. Hicks who was administered brandy and strychnine during the track and field events at the 1904 edition of the Olympic Games. The IOC officially banned the usage of any performance-enhancing drug at the Olympics in 1967.
The 1980 Moscow Olympics saw another side of Olympic problems. A paltry number of 80 nations took part that year as the United States along with 64 other countries protested against the Soviet military aggression in Afghanistan. Retaliating to this, the Soviet Union and 14 other nations withdrew from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee has always stepped in to mitigate the issues that blemish the fervent spirit of the Olympics. After all one must not forget that this mega event was introduced only to spread the mantras of sporting spirit and world peace.
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