Affaires sensibles

Some of the most famous images in Olympic history show neither records nor exploits on the track, but athletes in revolt, taking advantage of the global audience of the Games to give an unprecedented echo to their struggle. Three moments of brilliance are forever etched in the saga of Olympism: the raised fists of sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos in Mexico City in 1968 to protest racism in the United States, the middle finger of Polish pole vaulter Władysław Kozakiewicz in Moscow in 1980, defying Soviet domination of his country, and the crossed arms of Ethiopian marathoner Feyisa Lilesa in Rio in 2016 to alert the world to the plight of his oppressed people.