As they return to , with the and Cortina d’Abezzo welcoming the world’s top athletes, but also American officials, such as the US Secretary of State and the vice president of , , with the snowy landscape of the Italian Alps as a backdrop, the natural interest – due to the geopolitical climate – turns to how sporting events like this have historically met political developments and international crises.
As Politico points out, the Olympic Games, whether traditional or Winter, have coincided several times with diplomatic crises, invasions and wars.
1936: From the Winter Olympics to the occupation of the Rhineland
It is true that most scholars of the period have focused on the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where the Nazi regime showed its true colors internationally by excluding Jewish athletes and used the event as a propaganda tool even after the successes of African-born Olympians such as Jesse Owens.
What is less known is that a few months before in February, Nazi Germany had also hosted the Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, giving the Nazi party the opportunity to promote the image of a peaceful and prosperous country that, despite its political and economic problems, and despite its defeat in World War I with all its consequences, still had international prestige.
It was probably precisely these factors that the Nazis took advantage of and just 12 days after the end of the Games, on March 7 in particular, they sent their troops to the Rhineland (which Germany had also lost after World War I and since 1930 remained in the status of a demilitarized zone) in flagrant violation of the Treaty of Versailles. With the Summer Olympics just around the corner and the general tension prevailing at the time, this move was met with little reaction from France, Britain and others, with the result that according to some accounts the Nazi regime felt stronger and made similar moves later, culminating in the invasion of Poland that formally triggered World War II.
1980: The American “Miracle on Ice”
One of the most iconic moments in Olympic history was born during a period of resurgent Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. The USSR had invaded Afghanistan a few months earlier, while Washington’s stance towards Moscow had hardened and US President Jimmy Carter had made it clear that America would boycott the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow.
At the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, this superpower rivalry was brought to the ice. The U.S. men’s hockey team — composed mostly of college and amateurs — faced the Soviet team, a “machine” accustomed to winning streaks and gold medals. The Americans, on paper, had no chance.
And yet! Defying the odds, Team USA won 4-3, and it was that victory that paved the way for the gold. As the final seconds ticked away, ABC announcer Al Michaels shouted the legendary: “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”
The importance of the win far exceeded the result on the field itself. For many Americans, it was a great psychological uplift at a time of geopolitical tension and domestic division. Ronald Reagan later said it was proof that “good people in a hard world can finish first.” And the myth of the “miracle” has continued to live on into the 21st century, offering US President Donald Trump a great opportunity for propaganda and publicity by signing an executive order in December last year awarding the team members the Congressional Gold Medal.
2014: Russia enters Crimea after Sochi
Four days. That’s how long the Russian leadership and the army left after the end of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, until they sent troops to Crimea, occupied the region and proceeded to annex it.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych had fled to Moscow days earlier after being ousted by protesters demanding democracy and closer ties with the European Union. As protesters filled Independence Square in Kiev, their clashes with security forces were shown around the world alongside footage of the Games — in which Russia dominated the medal table.
The Olympic flame was extinguished in Sochi on February 23, and on February 27, trucks and tanks were deployed to Crimea. Soldiers in uniforms without insignia set up barricades, occupied government buildings and raised the Russian flag.
Later that year, Moscow faced accusations of a state-sponsored doping program, resulting in many of its athletes ultimately being stripped of their gold medals.
2022: Russia invades Ukraine… again
Vladimir Putin appeared at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and announced the famous “unrestricted cooperation” that they still trumpet in every communication.
Four days after the end of the Games, on February 24, Putin – and while until the time of the speech the Russian side was trying to convince the whole world that the American information about the concentration of forces on the border and about the preparation of an invasion were false with statements of the style “tell us what time we will enter” – announced the start of the “special military operation”, essentially declaring war on Ukraine. Within minutes, Russian troops had invaded the country and missiles were falling on Kiev, Kharkiv and other cities.
According to US intelligence agencies, as reported by The New York Times, Chinese officials reportedly asked the Kremlin to delay the attack until after the Games. Beijing denied having advance knowledge of the invasion.
2018: Demonstration of Korean unity in Pyeongchang
As South Korea prepared to host the Winter Games in the mountainous region of Pyeongchang, a few hundred kilometers away across the border, North Korea was conducting missile and nuclear tests. The tension was escalating internationally, and the (then) president of the USA, Donald Trump, had even threatened military strikes. The International Olympic Committee said it was “closely monitoring” developments as there were concerns about whether the Games could be held safely on the Korean peninsula.
But in his New Year’s address, Kim Jong Un signaled that he was open to North Korea participating in the Games. In the end, North Korean athletes not only participated, but in the opening ceremony they marched together with the South Koreans under a common flag, that of a united Korea.
The two sides also appeared united in women’s ice hockey, sending a joint team to compete. It was a rare moment of reconciliation that helped restart diplomatic talks between the two capitals, although tensions returned after the Games and there has been no progress towards a reunification or even a settlement of the conflict since.
