International sport expert available for Olympic sports coverage

Newswise — The world will be watching as the Paris Olympic Games open on Friday, July 26. The games, which will run through Sunday, Aug. 11, will be filled not only with high-caliber athletic performances but also sociopolitical commentary.

Bill Smith, the director of the University of Idaho’s Martin Institute and International Studies Program in the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences, is an expert in international sport. He is available to discuss a variety of topics related to the geopolitics of the Olympics, including but not limited to:

• Paris as a host and how the organization of Paris 2024 Games compared with past iterations (plus Los Angeles 2028 and/or the likely announcement of Salt Lake City as 2034 Winter Host)
• The relationship between international sports federations and the International Olympic Committee
• New sports for 2024 and the process for adding/subtracting sports from the Olympic Games
• Doping and the anti-doping movement via the World Anti-Doping Agency
• The ban on Russia’s participation in the past several Olympics and the history of isolating recalcitrant regimes
• The importance many countries place on medal tables as showing something tangible about their nation as a whole, as well as “per capita” tables considering GDP and population
• The ideal of an Olympic Truce
• Why the Puerto Rican Basketball Team can participate but the Hawaiian Surfers can not
• Why the Parade of Nations matters, especially to delegations from non-sovereign states

Smith has worked at the Martin Institute since 2000 and researches and teaches about international affairs and sports. He has lived in Mexico, Portugal and Spain. He has master’s and doctorate degrees in history from Washington State University.