Opinion Concerning the Medal Ranking Table Displayed on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee Official Website

August 2, 2021
Voluntary Executive Board Members of the Japan Olympic Academy

 

The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG) is displaying on its Official Website (see link below) an Olympic Medal Count table organized by NOC or team. The Japan Olympic Academy (JOA), a non-profit organization that promotes the Olympic Movement in accordance with the ideas of Olympism and a member of the International Olympic Academy, would like to urge the IOC and the TOCOG to exercise caution regarding the Medal Count table.

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/all-sports/medal-standings.htm

The Olympic Charter provides that the Olympic Games are competitions between athletes and not between countries:

6　Olympic Games
1．The Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries. They bring together the athletes selected by their respective NOCs, whose entries have been accepted by the IOC. They compete under the technical direction of the IFs concerned.

It also provides that the IOC and the OCOG shall not draw up any global ranking per country: 

57 Roll of honour
The IOC and the OCOG shall not draw up any global ranking per country. A roll of honour bearing the names of medal winners and those awarded diplomas in each event shall be established by the OCOG and the names of the medal winners shall be featured prominently and be on permanent display in the main stadium.

In the context of the Olympic Movement, NOC/Team and country/region are not equivalent. Accordingly, the idea that the medal count table on the Website is not contrary to the Charter may be valid, but many NOCs are established for individual countries and regions, and the table could create the impression among members of the public that it is equivalent to a ranking by country.

The JOA considers that the IOC and the TOCOG must make appropriate decisions concerning the relevance of displaying the Olympic Medal Count table on the Official Website from the perspective that the ideas of the Olympic Movement must be correctly communicated to the public.

The reasons for this are as follows.

• From the time that Coubertin revived the modern Olympics, athletes have participated not by nation, but as individuals. This was done in order to pursue international peace through sports and to avoid excessive nationalism and confrontation between countries arising from a system of national competition.
• Rules 6-1 and 57 of the current Olympic Charter reflect this spirit of Olympism expressed by Coubertin, and they remain important clauses that have been passed down as fundamental underlying principles.
• Revisions of the above provisions (see attached reference materials) indicate that the Olympic ideas have been firmly maintained and handed down in spite of the influences in each era including the international circumstances and interference by countries after the Second World War.

 

< Reference Materials >

◆ Changes in Rule 6-1 of the Olympic Charter
In the 1956 version was the first major revision in the structure of the Charter since the end of the Second World War, and for the first time the Fundamental Principles included a statement that the Games are a competition between individuals and not between countries.

Later, this statement was placed in the Fundamental Principles until 1974. When the Charter was revised in 1975 to make the Fundamental Principles more conceptual, the statement was placed in the section describing arrangements concerning the Games following the Fundamental Principles. This position remains basically unchanged in the current Charter.

1956 Version of the Charter
Fundamental Principles
7    Citizens of a country are qualified to participate in the Olympic Games only under the colours of that country.
The Games are contests between individuals and not between countries^＊.

1974 Version of the Charter
Fundamental Principles
9   The Games are contests between individuals and not between countries or areas.

1975 and Subsequent Versions of the Charter
While the statement is unchanged, it is placed under a separate rule as a result of reorganization of the Fundamental Principles to present the ideas of the Olympic Movement.

2020 (Current) Version of the Charter
6　Olympic Games
1．The Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries. They bring together the athletes selected by their respective NOCs, whose entries have been accepted by the IOC. They compete under the technical direction of the IFs concerned.

 

◆ Changes in Rule 57 of the Olympic Charter
This provision specifies the handling of the list of winners at the Games. There is no mention in the pre-war Charter that the Games are not national competitions, as can be seen from the 1930 version.
In the 1949 version, the first revision after the war, the statement “In the Olympic Games there is no classification according to points” was added. In the 1950 version, a slight addition was made to specify that “There is no scoring between countries or awarding of points.” This statement has been maintained since then, but some minor revisions of wording were made through the 1990 version.
In 1991, the IOC and OCOGs are clearly referenced as the “IOC and OCOGs,” which is the same as of the wording of the current Charter, and the statement that a global ranking by country shall not be drawn up has been maintained to the present. In the English version, the phrase “not … any” is used, which perhaps can be read as a strong rejection of producing any ranking.

1930 Version of the Charter
XIX. CLASSIFICATION
In the Olympic Games there is no classification according to points.
A Roll of Honour, in alphabetical order, shall be set up bearing the names of the first six competitors in each event as soon as this classification has been made.
This document shall be drawn up and kept under the control of the International Olympic Committee.
It should be noted that no statements that the Games are not contests between countries is made.

1949 Version of the Charter
53．In the Olympic Games there is no scoring by countries. A Roll of Honour in alphabetical order of the names of the first six competitors in each event shall be compiled by the Organising Committee and delivered to the International Olympic Committee.

1950 Version of the Charter
The Machinery of the Olympic Games
There is no scoring between countries or awarding of points.
A Roll of Honour of the names of the first six results in each event shall be given to the I. O. C. by the Organizing Committee.
The names of the victors shall be engraved on the walls of the stadium in which the Games were opened and closed.

1990 Version of the Charter
65 Roll of honour
The Olympic Games are not contests between nations and no scoring by countries is recognized. A roll of honour of the names of the first six competitors in each event shall be compiled by the OCOG and delivered to the IOC.

1991 Version of the Charter
58 Roll of Honour
The IOC and the OCOG shall not draw up any global ranking per country. A roll of honour bearing the names of medal winners and those awarded diplomas in each event shall be established by the OCOG and the names of the medal winners shall be featured prominently and be on permanent display in the main stadium.
（This is the same as the 2020 version.）

2020 Version of the Charter
57 Roll of honour
The IOC and the OCOG shall not draw up any global ranking per country. A roll of honour bearing the names of medal winners and those awarded diplomas in each event shall be established by the OCOG and the names of the medal winners shall be featured prominently and be on permanent display in the main stadium.