Der åbnede og lukkede vinter-ol i 1960?
Avery Brundage
1960 Winter Olympics
Idrætskonkurrencen mellem Sovjetunionen og USA var blevet intens i løbet af 1950'erne. Deres modsatrettede ideologier og interesser i nationer som Øst- og Vesttyskland, Kina og Nord- og Sydkorea skabte en vanskelig situation, da vinterspillene i 1960 nærmede sig. Spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt Kina ville få lov til at deltage, var af særlig interesse. Kinesiske atleter deltog sidst ved sommerlegene i 1952, men havde siden trukket sig ud af IOC på grund af en strid om Taiwans deltagelse som et selvstændigt land. USA støttede Taiwan, mens Sovjetunionen stod bag Kina. Da legene i 1960 skulle afholdes i USA, var der blandt IOC-medlemmerne bekymring for, at USA ikke ville tillade Kina eller et andet kommunistisk land at deltage. I 1957 meddelte IOC-præsident Avery Brundage, der selv var amerikaner, at hvis USA nægtede adgang til et land, der var anerkendt af IOC, ville de tilbagekalde Squaw Valleys invitation til at være vært for legene, og han ville trække sig tilbage fra posten som præsident. USA bøjede sig for det internationale pres og tillod atleter fra kommunistiske lande at deltage. Kina fortsatte med at kræve, at Taiwan skulle ekskluderes fra IOC, hvilket blev afvist, indtil Kina afbrød forbindelserne, hvilket gjorde en ende på ethvert håb om, at Taiwan ville deltage i 1960.
Avery Brundage
1960 Winter Olympics
Athletic competition between the Soviet Union and United States had grown intense during the 1950s. Their opposing ideologies and interests in nations such as East and West Germany, China and North and South Korea created a delicate situation as the 1960 Winter Games approached. Of particular interest was the question of whether China would be allowed to participate. Chinese athletes last competed at the 1952 Summer Games but had since withdrawn from the IOC due to a dispute over Taiwan's participation as a separate country. The United States supported Taiwan while the Soviet Union stood behind China. Given the fact that the 1960 Games were to be held in America, there was concern among IOC members that the United States would not allow China or any other Communist country to participate. In 1957 IOC president Avery Brundage, himself an American, announced that if the United States refused entry to any country recognized by the IOC, then they would revoke Squaw Valley's invitation to host the Games and he would resign the presidency. Bowing to international pressure, the United States allowed athletes from Communist countries to participate. China continued to demand that Taiwan be expelled from the IOC, demands that were refused until China broke off relations ending any hope that they would participate in 1960.
1960 Winter Olympics