olympic games – Artifex.News

Vlasic endorses IOC’s new gene screening regulation for women’s events

admin — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:08:00 +0000

World 10K Bengaluru run event ambassador Blanka Vlasic, a double Olympic medalist and two-time World Champion in high jump, during a press conference ahead of the TCS World 10K Bengaluru run 2026, in Bengaluru on April 23, 2026.
| Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

The International Olympic Committee’s new policy, which mandates that eligibility for any female category is limited to biological females, has sparked debate.

Eligibility for the female category for all disciplines of an IOC event, including the Olympic Games, will be determined by SRY gene screening.

Two-time high jump World championship gold medallist Blanka Vlasic sees the logic behind protecting women’s sport. “In sport, there should be strict policies. Things should be clear. Everybody competing should compete under the same standards, and have the same conditions. Women’s sport should be protected in that way,” Blanka said here on Thursday.

A highly decorated athlete, Blanka is in the city as the international event ambassador of the TCS World 10K Bengaluru 2026.

Apart from the world championships, the Croatian has two World indoor championship golds, three World athletics final titles and two Olympic medals (2008 Beijing silver and 2016 Rio bronze) to her name.

Her personal best of 2.08m, set at the 2009 Zagreb Grand Prix, is third best in women’s high jump history.

The 42-year-old takes pride in having a clean record, bereft of doping stains. “I’m proud to have been part of the generation that jumped really, really high, and under the motto — ‘We jump clean’,” Blanka, who towers over the room at 6’4”, said.

To take unethical shortcuts to attain a one-off success never appealed to Blanka.

“If you achieve success with shortcuts, then your success will probably be just one spark. But in sports, do you remember someone who won just one time? Or do you remember a champion who was present for 10 years, with his or her ups and downs? I was consistent for so many years in a highly competitive sport — that was the goal,” she said.

“In track and field, it is very important to maintain your level for a long period of time. That is what is valued. Even if you are not Olympic gold medallist or world champion, if you are consistently in the top 10 in the world for more than 10 years, you could say that you had a great career,” Blanka said.

Published – April 23, 2026 08:38 pm IST

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Paris rubbish collectors threaten Olympics strike

admin — Thu, 02 May 2024 12:29:21 +0000

A photograph taken on March 17, 2023 shows rubbish piled on a street in Paris’ 5th district, as rubbish collectors strike against pension reforms, leaving many streets in the capital piled with stinking waste.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Paris rubbish collectors could strike over the summer, a major French union said on May 2, raising the spectre of piles of stinking trash on the streets during the Olympic Games.

Walkouts could start in May and continue from July 1 to September 8, the General Confederation of Labour(CGT) union branch representing binmen warned, a period that includes the Games, which run from July 26 to August 11.

Refuse workers in the Paris region are demanding an extra 400 euros ($430) per month and a one-off 1,900-euro bonus for those working during the Olympics.

Interview | Chennai sailor Nethra Kumanan qualifies for Paris Olympics 2024

“We’re going to be giving it our all and we want that taken into consideration,” Nabil Latreche, a member of the CGT-FTDNEEA union, told AFP.

“The municipal police are getting a bonus and we have the same employer. We’re going to have an excessive workload too with the 15 million tourists that are expected,” Mr. Latreche said.

Paris city hall had discussed offering graduated bonuses for rubbish collectors, ranging from nothing up to 1,200 euros, he added.

The mayor’s office told AFP an April announcement of bonuses of between 600 and 1,900 euros for workers contributing to the Olympics effort would extend to refuse collection as well.

The CGT walked out of talks on learning the level of payouts would be dependent on how much extra work people had to take on, city hall added.

A meeting between Paris deputy mayors and the CGT is slated for next week.

Some rubbish collectors had had to cancel holidays as there were no additional staff recruited, Mr. Latreche said.

Binmen already walked off the job on April 24 but received no concessions, the trade unionist told AFP.

In March last year, a three-week strike by rubbish collectors against President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular pensions reform saw more than 10,000 tonnes of waste piled in Paris streets at its height.

Images of the heaps of trash, some mounting several metres high, were seen around the world.

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watch | how are olympic host cities selected

admin — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 09:38:35 +0000

How are Olympic host cities selected?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly declared India’s intention to host the Olympic Games, preferably in 2036, during the opening ceremony of the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai on October 14.

Only three Asian countries have ever hosted the Olympics — China, South Korea and Japan, with Japan hosting the games twice in 1964 and 2020.

With India throwing its hat into the ring, there are at least five confirmed countries interested in hosting the 2036 Games and nine others reportedly in various stages of preparations and discussions internally and with the IOC.

If India does manage to outbid the competition, it will be the first big-ticket multi-discipline sporting event in the country since the controversy-marred Commonwealth Games in 2010.

How is a host country selected?

Read more: How Olympic cities are selected

Reporting: Uthra Ganesan

Production & Voiceover: K. Rajashree Das

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