Sports Politics in the Olympics

The 1964 Olympics occurred in Tokyo, Japan and the events took place from October 10th to October the 24th.  By hosting the Olympics, Japan wanted to be seen in a more positive light after WW2 and they no longer wanted to be seen as war criminals.  Also, Japan wanted to show to the world that they were recovering from the aftermath of the war.  At the opening ceremony, they even had Yoshinori Sakai, a man born the day of the atomic bomb drop, carry the torch to symbolize Japan's recovery.  Also as a result of hosting the games, Japan was even further modernized to accommodate the games (such as transportation and building development).  Overall, the games were a success for Japan.  With these olympic events, sport was mainly being used as a vehicle for change.  Japan wasn't only just trying to rebuild and change its infrastructure, but also trying to change its image projected to the world and be seen more positively post WW2.  As far as the quote saying that "sport is devoid of political interference", I would have to disagree.  Most things that are within the socoil arena tie somehow, some way into politics (at least within our American society) sports included.  Take boxer Muhammed Ali for example.  Him refusing to enlist in the draft didn't only bring attention to his personal life, but it also impacted the boxing and sporting world.  It is impossible to have sports without politics in my opinion.