The Olympic rings are pictured in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, December 7, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
December 7, 2021
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) – The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday said it respected the United States’ government decision for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in February over China’s human rights record.
“We always ask for as much respect as possible and least possible interference form the political world,” said Juan Antonio Samaranch, the IOC’s coordination commission chief for the Beijing Olympics. “We have to be reciprocal. We respect the political decisions taken by political bodies.”
The White House said on Monday U.S. government officials would boycott the Winter Olympics because of China’s human rights “atrocities”, although U.S. athletes were free to travel there to compete.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
