Yearender: Credibility of Olympic Movement tested in 2012

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Starting with a ticket sale scandal and ending with a voting violation², the third Summer Games that the British capital has staged were not just a test of Olympic ability, also a test of the Olympic ideals.

Even before the July 27-Aug. 12 extravaganza had begun, there came an embarrassment³ for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) when Britain's Sunday Times reported in mid-June that national Olympic committee officials and ticket agents in several countries were caught offering tickets on the black market for up to 10 times their face value.

As the NOCs are forbidden to sell their tickets abroad or to anyone who plans to resell them, the IOC was quick to launch an investigation⁴ into the report.

After a five-month probe, the IOC ethnics⁵ commission ruled that six officials from four countries - Greece, Lithuania, Malta and Serbia "helped tarnish⁶ the reputation" of the Olympics by offering tickets to the black market and ordered the national Olympic committees concerned "to take the appropriate measures" against their officials or face further action, such as withdrawing accreditation⁷ for Olympic events including the Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, the IOC promised to overhaul⁸ its system of allocating⁹ tickets for the 2016 Rio Games to avoid a repeat of the London situation.

The most controversial incident during the London Games was the disqualification of eight female badminton players - from China, South Korea and Indonesia - on the basis they were deliberately¹⁰ trying to lose their final group matches, to save energy and get a more favorable draw in the knock-out stage.

While some argued that it is all right to lose on purpose in the pursuit of ultimate victory, Thomas Lund, secretary general for the Badminton World Federation¹¹, explained the decision to disqualify the players in the following way: "The rules say you have to win every match, and that doesn't mean you throw some matches and win other matches."

But the BWF also had itself to blame for a change of format¹² for the Olympic badminton competition, which went from a straightforward¹³ knock-out event to a round-robin stage followed by knock-out.

Aware of the danger of being dropped from the Olympics after 2016, the BWF decided¹⁴ in November to change the Olympic doubles rules. In the future, following the group stage, all pairs finishing second in their groups would be placed into a second draw to determine who they face in the knockout phase.

"This will eliminate any player's thoughts about actively¹⁵ trying to lose a match or matches, irrespective of other match results," the BWF said.

The high-profile farce¹⁶ in badminton is not the only controversy¹⁷ that had marred¹⁸ the 2012 Olympics.

More than a few eyebrows¹⁹ were raised when Ye Shiwen, a 16-year-old Chinese swimmer, knocked five seconds off her personal best in the 400-meter individual medley²⁰. She even swam the final 50m of the freestyle leg of her 400m medley faster than the winner of the men's race, American Ryan Lochte, sparking biased²¹ speculation²² which rebounded²³ back against her accusers as voice after voice spoke²⁴ out to defend her displays and drug tests proved that she was clean.

To add to the woes²⁵ of the London Games, officiating was not up to Olympic standards.

British cyclist Philip Hindes admitted during an interview in the mixed zone immediately after the men's team sprint²⁶ that he deliberately crashed in an earlier round because he did not like the start he had. The British team eventually won the restarted race. The International Cycling Union said they were aware of Hindes' remarks but insisted the result of the qualifying race "was not in question", and the IOC also said it would not investigate.

The closing scandal of the games involves lollipops²⁷. Two of four candidates who were elected to the IOC's athletes' commission have been disqualified for breaching²⁸ strict election rules. Both are Olympic gold medalists -Japanese hammer thrower Koji Murofushi and Mu-Ye Chu, a Chinese Taipei taekwondo athlete.

Chu was accused of handing out sweets to athletes, and Murofushi accused of campaigning too hard, such as distributing promotional material to athletes at the Olympic Village dining hall.

While there were other scandals and controversies in connection with the London Olympics, including a couple of positive drug tests and brand protection, these Games, which was dubbed²⁹ by IOC president Jacques Rogge as "happy and glorious Games", had much to brag³⁰ about.

History was made as all the NOCs participating in London brought women athletes, setting a new benchmark for female participation³¹.

In Atlanta 1996 there were still 26 NOCs that came to the Games without women. In Beijing 2008, there were still three NOCs: Qatar, Brunei and Saudi Arabia that had no female participants.

Now that was a part of the past. All three NOCs sent female athletes to the 2012 Summer Olympics, with both Brunei and Qatar selecting female flag bearers at the opening ceremony.

Also, these Games were the only one in which women competed in every sport.

During two weeks of sporting spectacle Jamaican sprinter³² Usain Bolt and U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps lit up the Olympic Park in east London.

Bolt became the first man to win back-to-back Olympic title trebles in the men's 100m and 200m and 4x100m relay. Phelps created history as well when he won four golds to take his life-time medal haul to 22, including 18 golds, making him the most decorated Olympian in history.

The spotlight³³ quickly switched to the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janerio after the London closing ceremony, with the Brazilian city already struggling with its biggest project.

"Our message remains³⁴: There is time, but time is ticking, and they need to carry on attacking this one with all vigor," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said earlier this month after Rio organizers briefed the IOC executive board on their preparations.

The global economic slowdown has had an impact on the London Games but the IOC's financial situation remains solid with reserves of 558 million U.S. dollars and continuing increases in television and sponsorship revenues.

"For the period 2014-16 we already have 3.6 billion dollars, and it should reach and exceed 4 billion," IOC president Jacques Rogge said in July.

In addition, 722 million dollars have already been generated for the 2017-20 period.

Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul are nearing the final straight in the race to host the 2020 Games, with the decision due next July in Buenos Aires, where Rogge will also end his 12-year tenure³⁵ at the helm of the IOC.

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