Prelims

Half Title Page

The Olympic Games

Series Page

SocietyNow

SocietyNow: short, informed books, explaining why our world is the way it is, now.

The SocietyNow series provides readers with a definitive snapshot of the events, phenomena, and issues that are defining our twenty-first century world. Written leading experts in their fields, and publishing as each subject is being contemplated across the globe, titles in the series offer a thoughtful, concise, and rapid response to the major political and economic events and social and cultural trends of our time.

SocietyNow makes the best of academic expertise accessible to a wider audience, to help readers untangle the complexities of each topic and make sense of our world the way it is, now.

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Graham Taylor

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The Smart City in a Digital World

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Corbynism: A Critical Approach

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Title Page

The Olympic Games: A Critical Approach

Helen Jefferson Lenskyj

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2020

Copyright © 2020 Emerald Publishing Limited

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No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the text, illustrations or advertisements. The opinions expressed in these chapters are not necessarily those of the Author or the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83867-776-3 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83867-773-2 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83867-775-6 (Epub)

Contents

Abbreviations

Acknowledgements

My first venture into sport studies came about in 1980 when I wrote a term paper on Canadian women’s sport history. My Ph.D. supervisor and friend (and baseball fan), Professor Mary O’Brien, encouraged me to extend my analysis to contemporary sport issues. I followed her advice. Now, in 2020, this book marks the culmination of four decades of research and activism on sport-related topics.

It is not possible to acknowledge all the women and men who have challenged my thinking and my analysis, including family, friends, activists, and colleagues in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, US, UK, and Europe. As well, there are countless individuals whom I’ve never met in person, but to whom I feel connected through email and social media. And, as always, I want to thank my children and my partner, Liz, for their love and support, and Liz for her usual excellent proofreading.

Thanks to Philippa Grand for encouraging me to publish with Emerald in 2018, and to the team at Emerald for their ongoing support. When Philippa and Helen Beddow asked me to write this book for Emerald’s SocietyNow series, I was more than happy to accept their invitation. On the topic of sport, Emerald now has a book series, Emerald Studies in Sport and Gender, which Helen and I edit. Proposals are most welcome!