As the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing entered their second week, reports emerged of a controversy that symbolized a predicament threatening two of the globe¡¯s biggest sporting events.
It had nothing to do with doping, dubious scoring, collusion or corruption. Rather, the Olympic flame ¡ª that emblem of peace and solidarity ignited quadrennially in Greece by the sun¡¯s rays ¡ª had apparently been snuffed out.
In an echo of 2008, when a relay torch was rumored to have been extinguished during pro-Tibet protests in the buildup to the Beijing Summer Games, Chinese officials insisted the flame had in fact remained alight, and a snowstorm had merely ¡°affected visibility.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.