alternatehistory.com

What would the effects (positive and negative) be if there was less of a national emphasis at the Olympics?

There would be:
No national anthems on the podiums for the medal ceremony
No medal counts per country
The possibility that teams of mixed nationalities could exist.
Instead of making national teams, contestants would attend pre-qualifition tournaments hosted in the countries.

This would make a purer competition but the Olympics might not be as popular, might not be as commercially viable.

But then on the positive side, there might not have been a boycott of the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, which was a tragedy for the athletes who trained for four years to be told that they could not compete.

Any other thoughts?
Top