On the show this week, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons delivered a fiery anti-war message at the Paralympics opening ceremony — but it was censored in China. He also flubbed a line, for which the IPC has apologized, yet China has not even acknowledged its own censorship (1:40). International sporting bodies such as the IOC and FIFA have been awarding events to countries that create headaches. Is this era coming to an end (4:26)? The IPC has historically stood apart from the IOC, often taking a stronger stance on issues (5:10), but one difference at these two Games is that the Paralympics has fewer foreign journalists in the bubble asking the difficult questions (7:15).
Was the IPC’s decision to send Russian and Belarusian athletes home the right one? A Russian legal appeal could have resulted in a very messy situation (8:08). Do these and other sporting sanctions actually have any impact on Putin and the war (10:45)? The absence of Russian and Belarusian athletes has severely affected the medal standings, to China’s great advantage (12:27), so does that impact the legitimacy of the results (14:45)? The weather in the mountains is still treacherous, with one skier blown off course by high winds, sustaining serious injuries and still only just missing out on a medal (15:30). Mark highlights the inspirational comments of Swedish athlete Ebba Aarsjoe (16:15), as well as the heartwarming back story of pro-basketball-player-turned-Paralympic-legend Li Duan, who was the final torchbearer at the opening ceremony (18:12).
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced a new title sponsor this week, further evidence that they could be moving on from China. What does that mean for other sports leagues — especially the men’s tour, the ATP (20:22)? Guess who won the first tournament under new sponsor Hologic, who specifically referenced the WTA’s Peng Shuai stance as a catalyst for their partnership? China’s Zhang Shuai — who beat a Ukrainian opponent to win her third WTA title (23:58). Finally, swimmer Sun Yang’s second appeal of a doping ban at a court in Switzerland was denied. Could this spell the end of his storied career (25:28)?
