"Athlete power on the rise" – this was the title of this fall’s Play the Game Conference in Colorado Springs. At Deutschlandfunk's Sportgespräch (Sports Talk) we were able to talk to three athlete representatives of three different organisations.
Athletes worldwide are coming together forming new sorts of representation bodies. They are fighting for more independence and more rights. In some countries they have achieved a loosening of the rule 40 – a rule within the Olympic charter that restricts the marketing rights of athletes during the time period around Olympic Games. This is only one example.
Rebellion or obedience – where are athletes headed?
We discuss this with Emma Terho, former Finnish icehockey player and member of the IOC athlete commission,
Beckie Scott, former Canadian cross-country skier and outgoing chair of the athlete committee of the World Anti Doping Agengy (WADA),
and Moritz Geisreiter, former speedskater and member of the independent German association Athletes Germany.