IOC Asks Chinese Team for Report on Cyclists’ Mao Zedong Badges
Gold medalists Bao Shanju of China and Zhong Tianshi of China pose with badges of the Chinese Communist Party's former leader Mao Zedong pinned to their tracksuits, at the medal ceremony for the women's team sprint in track cycling at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka, Japan, on Aug. 2, 2021. Matthew Childs/Reuters
TOKYO—The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday asked the Chinese team for a report on why two of its medalists appeared on the podium wearing badges featuring the head of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) former leader Mao Zedong.
Gold medal cyclists Bao Shanju and Zhong Tianshi wore the badges during a medal ceremony on Monday, in a potential breach of Olympic rules on the display of political paraphernalia.
