Olympic Games

Feyisa Lilesa Olympic Protest

This Rio Olympic Medalist Risked His Life to Show Solidarity This Rio Olympic Medalist Risked His Life to Show Solidarity

With one gesture, Ethiopian runner Feyisa Lilesa seized the Olympics spotlight and educated the world. 

Aug 25, 2016 / Dave Zirin

Student Olympic Money Protest

Now That the Games Are Over, the Real Olympic Drama Begins in Rio Now That the Games Are Over, the Real Olympic Drama Begins in Rio

The Olympics are over, but they have set the stage for a wider social conflict over the future of the city.

Aug 22, 2016 / Dave Zirin

Health workers Brazil

Do the Olympics Actually Make the World Less Healthy? Do the Olympics Actually Make the World Less Healthy?

The Olympics bill themselves as celebrations of physical fitness, but often leave sickness and compromised health systems in their wake.

Aug 19, 2016 / Sonia Shah

Ryan Lochte

Ryan Lochte Is One of Many Privileged First-World Tourists—and Brazilians Are Fed Up Ryan Lochte Is One of Many Privileged First-World Tourists—and Brazilians Are Fed Up

He seems to believe in the old imperial axiom that “there is no sin below the equator.”

Aug 18, 2016 / Dave Zirin

Calamida de Olimpica

One Community’s Resistance Will Be the Rio Olympics’ Longest-Lasting Legacy One Community’s Resistance Will Be the Rio Olympics’ Longest-Lasting Legacy

Vila Autódromo may have suffered mass displacement for the Olympic Games, but they have survived and emerged as a symbol that you can fight Rio’s City Hall and win.

Aug 17, 2016 / Dave Zirin and Jules Boykoff

Renato Cinco

This Rio City Council Member Is Standing Up to the Olympics This Rio City Council Member Is Standing Up to the Olympics

He got his start trying to legalize marijuana. Now he’s tackling political corruption.

Aug 16, 2016 / Dave Zirin

Favela hut in Rio

The Other Olympic Village Continues to Resist Displacement The Other Olympic Village Continues to Resist Displacement

Messages of resilience sprang up as quickly as the cookie-cutter homes Rio built for the favela’s remaining citizens.

Aug 12, 2016 / Dave Zirin

Rio Teacher Protest

Teachers and Students Occupy Schools in the Shadow of Olympic Rio Teachers and Students Occupy Schools in the Shadow of Olympic Rio

Organizing to reform teachers’ working conditions as well as standardized testing has been met with brutal police violence.

Aug 11, 2016 / Dave Zirin

City of God Joy

Olympic Joy in the Face of Erasure Olympic Joy in the Face of Erasure

On the mat, Rafaela Silva won for her marginalized favela. In the streets, activists are winning the right to protest.

Aug 10, 2016 / Dave Zirin

Olympic Refugee Team

The Other Olympic Refugee Story The Other Olympic Refugee Story

Don’t let heart-warming coverage of the Refugee Olympic Team distract from the other refugee crisis the IOC helped create.

Aug 5, 2016 / Dave Zirin

x