23/08/2008 / HUMAN RIGHTS
Szymon Kolecki shaved his head last Sunday, before starting the competition. His was a sign of solidarity with Tibet's shaven-headed Buddhist monks. Silver-winner in the 94kg competition, he didn't say a word on the podium.
Kolecki pointed out that he had to respect the Olympic Charter. The document says that "no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic site, venue or other area".
His gesture recalls other occurences of political protest in the Olympic Games' history. In 1980 in Moscow, Polish pole vaulter Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz, who had just become an Olympic champion, displayed an obscene "bent elbow" gesture to the jeering Soviet public. In 1968, the Olympic Games in Mexico were also marked by the action of two black US athletes, Tommie Smith et John Carlos, on the podium. Closing their eyes, they bowed their heads and raised their glove-covered fists in the air in reference to the black power movement back home.
Athlete marks first protest action over Tibet
The supposedly burning issue of human rights hasn't caused much of a stir in Beijing during the Olympic Games. Yet, on the eve of Games' close, a single athlete expressed his support for Tibet. Poland's weightlifter Szymon Kolecki shaved his head.
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"It was a symbol"
Szymon Kolecki shaved his head last Sunday, before starting the competition. His was a sign of solidarity with Tibet's shaven-headed Buddhist monks. Silver-winner in the 94kg competition, he didn't say a word on the podium.
Kolecki pointed out that he had to respect the Olympic Charter. The document says that "no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic site, venue or other area".
His gesture recalls other occurences of political protest in the Olympic Games' history. In 1980 in Moscow, Polish pole vaulter Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz, who had just become an Olympic champion, displayed an obscene "bent elbow" gesture to the jeering Soviet public. In 1968, the Olympic Games in Mexico were also marked by the action of two black US athletes, Tommie Smith et John Carlos, on the podium. Closing their eyes, they bowed their heads and raised their glove-covered fists in the air in reference to the black power movement back home.
By the way, French pole vaulter Romain Mesnil, said a few words this week to French media: "I am amused because we are in an Olympic village, apart from the world. We aren't in Beijing, not in China, but in "Dreamworld 2008". It's written everywhere, even on the sewers off the village."
Photo AFP
Photo AFP
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Comments
Polish Medalist Champions Tibetan Rights
Submitted by Unregistered user (not verified) on Tue, 26/08/2008 - 23:54.Thank you Champ, Szymon Kolecki! The spirit of freedom is the true mark of Olympian.
Unregistered user
when you talk about Tibet,
Submitted by Unregistered user (not verified) on Tue, 02/09/2008 - 16:19.when you talk about Tibet, you should know that region well , and know its culture, people ,history, then speak out ur opinions on it..
Unregistered user