The Olympics Are Western

The Olympic Games have for years been dominated or hijacked by sporting eventswhich are basically Western in origin.When a non-Western athlete or team excels in an Olympic eventwhich is traditionally Western，the feat is perceived as an upset.Or there are genetic factors that are brought in to account for it.Those long-distance runners from Kenya，we are told，havemany hills to climb as they herd their sheep.Effort，traditional family structures，traditional training techniques，and cultural importance given to specific bodily skills are overlooked.

These rationalizations applymostly to sportsmen and women from the non-West.Contest therefore is not on the ground of sports but on the ground of political constructions，in terms of valuing certain sports，histories，and cultures over others.If this is not the case，why do we have to have the Winter Olympics，arguably designed for the West and the countries“blessed”with winter to have their own games？

4-8　Meeting with the Non-West

No one remembered to design another Olympics for those countries that，by reason of geography，have only dry and rainy seasons.Can't we also have a Steaming Olympics，a Dry Olympics，or even a Wet Olympics？We cannot，since the Olympics，even as they claim universality，are particular.Athens，we should remember，does not experience the monsoons.

By promoting the image of the Olympics as global and by ensuring that every country participates in the events determined by Western authorities in the International Olympic Committee（IOC），the West is indirectly promoting its own values.The tragedy however is thatmany members within the IOC are from the non-West.Yet decisions about the summer Olympics still almost always seem to leave the non-Westwith no viable alternatives.Of course，there are options such as boycotting future Olympic Games if the inclusion of traditional sports from the non-West is rejected by the IOC.